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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23273587">FOWL Facets</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/PsychoSister/pseuds/PsychoSister'>PsychoSister</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>100 Follower Fic Giveaway! [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Darkwing Duck (Cartoon 1991), DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Crystal Gems (Steven Universe), Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dominic Domino, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Loony Toony - Freeform, M/M, Original Character(s), Past Character Death, not my oc's - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 03:22:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>40,957</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23273587</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/PsychoSister/pseuds/PsychoSister</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Steelbeak's partner Domino and the rest of his team lose contact with him, their search and rescue mission brings back a familiar face, as well as some less than pleasant memories for Domino. As they take their first steps down a road of mystery and deception, are the F.O.W.L. gems truly prepared for what lies ahead?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Steelbeak (Disney)/Original Character(s), Steelbeak/Dominic Domino</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>100 Follower Fic Giveaway! [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1634470</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eleanorose123/gifts">Eleanorose123</a>, <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/DelWrites/gifts">DelWrites</a>.</li>



    </ul><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After going missing for more than a day, Steelbeak’s team finally gets word from the missing gem and goes to pick him up, but something seems..off.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is fic number two for my 100 Follower Fic Giveaway! This one is for the anon who requested something with Steelbeak and Eleanorose123‘s awesome OC, Dominic Domino, in the Steven Universe!AU (Fearsome Facets) that I’ve been working on over on Tumblr with abbythegamergirl . As a special bonus, I also got to use Delwrite‘s wonderful OC Loony Toony for this story! ^.^ Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Daily life continues as it usually does for the organic creatures of the planet Earth. They go to work or school, eat, sleep, and live out their dull, short lives. All of them completely and blissfully unaware of the creatures prowling about their world and blending in among them- some for noble reasons such as to protect the planet, some for more sinister motives such as its destruction, and even more who walk the line between the two sides for their own benefit while hiding in the shadows.</p>
<p>This is a tale following those who work from the shadows, unaligned in the fight of good and evil…</p>
<p>Slowly circling the Earth, hidden high above the clouds and beyond the detection of standard Earth-based scanners, a black ship flies unseen through the skies. The surface of the ship is sharp and angular, looking similar to an obsidian arrowhead with four wings/thrusters sprouting from the back to form a sideways X shape along the flatter back end of the ship. It’s dark, reflective coating looks as if the whole thing were carved from a single large stone rather than many pieces of metal like most ships native to the planet- the only exceptions to its deep black color being speckles of white along the undercarriage of the ship and an angular red windshield on the front. The dark material works to its favor, however, letting it blend in with the starry sky behind it and giving it a natural camouflage with its surroundings.</p>
<p>Within the cockpit of the ship, amongst the many red and white panels with their hologram-projected interfaces, a small panel on the dash lights up with a pinging sound. A hand with brown feathers and black fingerless gloves taps the panel, bringing up a large hologram of the planet in white with a single, small, glowing black point pulsing on it.</p>
<p>“Steelbeak’s beacon just came back online.” A female voice says while the gloved hands zoom in on the black point of the hologram.</p>
<p>“Confirm that it’s actually him and double check for any other gems in the area.” A male voice commands from the other side of the hologram, red eyes watching closely as the image zooms in on the black point.</p>
<p>“Way ahead of you.” The female voice from earlier responds. Once the hologram-map is zoomed in far enough, it changes to an image of a single figure outlined in black standing on its own in a large, open field. “No other gems on the radar..” A gloved hand taps the image of the figure, bringing up a square bubble of text in a language consisting mostly of glyphs. “Andradite garnet..subset, black melanite..ball cut..yeah, that looks like Steelbeak.”</p>
<p>“Hm..” The red eyes narrow slightly, looking closely at the black-outlined hologram. “Go pick him up, but keep an eye out for any traps. I want to know why he went off the grid without contacting us first.”</p>
<p>“On it.” The female voice responds, a pair of gloved hands coming down to an extra-wide red panel and moving over it to steer the ship.</p>
<p>Red eyes stay fixed on the hologram, the male voice speaking quietly. “What have you been up to, Steelbeak…?”</p><hr/>
<p>A being perfectly matching the hologram from earlier waits patiently in the middle of a flat, open field miles away from any nearby towns. It appears to be a tall rooster with a large red comb, green tail feathers, and, interestingly enough, a rather dangerous looking, jagged, metallic beak. He’s dressed rather classy for someone standing in the middle of a dirty field, wearing black slacks with a red button up shirt, a black bowtie, a white suit jacket, and black patent leather oxfords with white spats. On the left side of his chest, where one would normally see a pocket square or boutonniere, is a gleaming black ball-cut melanite gemstone.</p>
<p>“Geez, what’s taken ‘em so long..?” He grumbles to himself while pulling back his left sleeve to check what, at first, looks like a regular black wrist watch, but actually displays a small radar-like hologram of two black points steadily getting closer to each other. The clouds parting above him draws his attention up towards the sky. “About time..” At first it’s hard to see anything against the starry backdrop, but, after moving lower, it becomes easier to see the outline of the black ship against the re-forming clouds. It gets close enough for the bottom hatch to open and extend a ramp, the melanite climbing on board. He looks around once he’s inside and the hatch has closed behind him, tapping his knuckles against one of the nearby walls as he ventures further into the ship. “Hey, anyone home?”</p>
<p>The ship is loaded with plenty of control consoles, interactive panels, and devices built into the walls and ceilings of the ship, but is fairly sparse on things like furniture and decorations. In fact, the first decorative thing that he spots is a tall shelving unit built into one of the walls. The shelves have what looks like a translucent white energy barrier in front of them, presumably to keep the various small colorful objects (mostly toys, it would seem) from falling off and onto the floor. Seemingly curious about the shelves and the out of place items on it, the melanite moves in for a closer look.</p>
<p>“Hehe~” A giggle echoing through the room, however, stops him in his tracks.</p>
<p>“??” The melanite looks around, searching for the source of the laughter. “Hello..?”</p>
<p>“Hehe~” Another giggle, that time coming from behind him.</p>
<p>“?!” He turns to look, but sees nothing. He hears the sound of movement from somewhere behind him and starts to walk backwards to get away from it. When he finally turns back around to face where he’s going, however, he’s met with large, black and white eyes directly in front of his own.</p>
<p>“Boo!” The excitedly smiling black beak just beneath (above, from his perspective) the black and white eyes says before sticking a white tongue out at him playfully.</p>
<p>“What the-?!” The rooster, startled by the surprise appearance of the face in front of him, tries to take a step back but ends up slipping on a small stuffed blue teddy bear lying on the ground. “Woah!” He falls down onto the ground, rubbing his head after he lands with a thud. “Oof…that’s gonna smart…”</p>
<p>“Whoopsie! Sorry, Steely!” The person hanging from the ceiling begins to reorient herself, moving so that she’s right-side-up before dropping down onto the ground from her previous hiding spot on the ceiling. Doing so reveals her to be another gem like him, though in her case she has a smooth heart-cut black spinel gemstone in the center of her chest over her black and white-striped long-sleeved shirt. She has matching stripes along her legs with everything else she’s wearing- a pair of gloves, her slightly platformed shoes, a puffy pair of pocketed suspender shorts, the round cloth bindings between her torso and her arms, and a hairband holding her hair up into a ponytail- are all grey with the shorts, overalls, and main part of the shoes being a lighter shade while the hairband, gloves, soles of her shoes, bindings on her arms, and the buttons and pockets on her overall shorts are all the same shade of darker grey. Once her unusually long arms are detangled from the various wires and beams of the ceiling, she reaches down to offer the melanite a hand up. “You okay?”</p>
<p>He takes the offered hand and pulls himself back up to his feet. “Eh, nothing scuffed or cracked, so I’ll live.”</p>
<p>“Oh, goodie!” Knowing that he wasn’t injured seems to be all the go-ahead she needs to start laughing, her earlier smile returning full-force. “I haven’t gotten you that good in a while! You should’ve seen the look on your face!”</p>
<p>“Yeah, yeah, that was pretty funny.” The melanite’s slightly forced smile contradicts his words, but the spinel ignores him as she begins stretching her body around him- elongating her neck so she can peek around his shoulder from behind while her hands start poking and prodding at his pockets. “Um..whatcha doin’, doll?”</p>
<p>She stretches her neck further so that her face moves around in front of his. “You promised you’d bring me something, remember? You didn’t forget, right??” She begins to pout, looking disappointed by the lack of objects in his pockets.</p>
<p>He rubs the back of his head with a slight frown. “Oh, geez…sorry, somethin’ came up and I didn’t get the chance. My bad..”</p>
<p>“Awwwww…” Her entire body seems to deflate with the disappointing news, her elongated limbs and neck drooping down to the ground while her head remains upright in the air.</p>
<p>The melanite frowns a bit more at the sad look on the spinel’s face and pats her on the head. “Tell ya what? I’ll getcha three next time t’ make it up to ya. Sound good?” He offers her a smile to go along with his words.</p>
<p>“Really?!” She perks back up instantly, her limbs and neck snapping back into place as she gives him an excited smile.</p>
<p>“Sure thing.” He promises with a grin of his own at her renewed energy.</p>
<p>“Yay! Thanks, Steely!” The spinel throws her arms around the melanite in a big hug, the long limbs stretching so they can wrap and coil around him three times over. “You’re the best!”</p>
<p>“Heh, no problem.” He winces slightly from the tightness of the embrace. “Say, you seen Domino? I gotta talk t’ him ‘bout somethin’.”</p>
<p>“Oh, Dommy’s in his room.” She unwinds her arms from around him and points down one of the ship’s hallways. “Said he got a call from High Command.”</p>
<p>“Ah, cool.” He gives her another pat on the head before walking down the indicated hall. “Thanks, sweetheart.” He calls over his shoulder with a wave, not looking back at her.</p>
<p>“No problemo-!” She almost walks off, but stops and does a double-take, watching the melanite disappear down the corridor with a confused expression on her face. “Wait, ‘sweetheart’??” Keeping her eyes on him, she stretches her arms up to the beams on the ceiling and blends in with them once again.</p>
<p>The melanite continues towards his destination, unaware of the confusion from the spinel regarding his choice of words. As he passes one of the rooms, the door opens up and he bumps into someone right as they come out of what appears to be the ship’s control room.</p>
<p>“Hey, watch it!” The person he bumped into turns out to be another gem, this one looking like a brown-feathered female chicken with short dark hair. Her outfit is pretty casual, consisting of a black shirt with torn sleeves, ripped black jeans, black and white sneakers, black fingerless gloves, and what appears to be a white lab coat tied around her waist. As she rubs her head, the black gemstone on her left shoulder catches the light- at a glance, one could be forgiven for seeing it as just a regular black stone, but, as it refracts the lights overhead, the white star in the center appears, revealing it to be a round black and white star-sapphire. She looks up at the melanite she bumped into and rolls her eyes. “Steelbeak…why am I NOT surprised..?” She asks sarcastically.</p>
<p>The melanite helps her to her feet. “Sorry ‘bout that, toots.” He nods his head in the direction he was going before he bumped into her. “Domino’s still in his room, right?”</p>
<p>“……” The star-sapphire eyes him with an unreadable expression after he helps her up. “Yeah, I think so. He should be finishing up his call with High Command soon.”</p>
<p>“Good to know, thanks.” He continues on his way, unaware of the suspicious gaze following him as he walks away.</p>
<p>He walks to the end of the hall and looks at the five doors, each one imprinted with a different gem on the front: The first one on the right has a round black and white star-sapphire on it. The one right next to it has a heart-shaped black spinel. The first one on the left has a black ball-cut melanite. The one next to it has a step-cut black and white snowflake obsidian. The gem on the final door, located on the wall between the two sides of the hall, has been shot at, burned, and shredded so badly that the gem on it is no longer recognizable- all that remains are a few traces of blue between the bullet holes and gauges in the material.</p>
<p>Finding the door that he’s looking for, the melanite knocks twice on the one with the snowflake obsidian on the front.</p>
<p>“It’s open.” A voice from within calls, sounding distracted.</p>
<p>Activating the small panel beside the door, the melanite calmly walks in. “Hey, Dom.” He greets the room’s only occupant with a quick wave.</p>
<p>The gem in question is a loon with striking red eyes and a step-cut black and white snowflake obsidian on the right side of his chest. Unlike the other two gems on the ship, his outfit could be considered a bit more refined, consisting of a white collared shirt under a black buttoned-up vest, a red bow tie, a white hat with a red band holding a small domino in place, and a long white coat that went down to just past his white leg feathers with a red inner-lining, a domino on each shoulder, an unclasped red belt with a white buckle, and a pattern along the bottom featuring large black lines that were each topped with a black circle.</p>
<p>“Hm..?” The snowflake obsidian had been busy reading something on a datapad when the other gem walked in. Seated at a small two-person table built into the left wall of the tastefully decorated room, he looks up when he hears the melanite’s greeting. He cocks an eyebrow at the taller gem, setting the datapad aside for the time being. “Since when do <b><em>you </em></b>knock?”</p>
<p>The melanite just shrugs, stepping further into the room and letting the door close behind him. “Heard you was takin’ a call from High Command, didn’t wanna interrupt anythin’ important.”</p>
<p>“That’s never stopped you before.” Domino gets up from his seat, looking the other gem over slowly. “Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, mind telling me why you suddenly decided to deactivate your beacon and have been ignoring our calls for the past twenty-eight hours?”</p>
<p>“Eh, just ran into a bit of trouble.” He shrugs again, leaning against the wall casually. “Nothin’ I couldn’t handle.”</p>
<p>Domino crosses his arms, giving the other gem a mild glare. “If you ‘run into trouble’, you’re supposed to call us immediately. Code 67, remember? ‘All F.O.W.L. agents operating in teams of two or more are to call for backup to neutralize any threats above Class 2.’ Considering you had to go dark for more than a day, I’d say that threat fell far above a Class 2.” He watches the melanite closely, stern eyes picking him apart with their sharp gaze.</p>
<p>“Like I said, it wasn’t anythin’ I couldn’t handle- no need t’ get you an’ the ladies involved.” The melanite waves off the reminder and the stern glare, not noticing the way the other gem’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Anyway, we’ve got bigger things t’ worry about.” He looks down at Domino, his previous demeanor changing to something more serious. “I found somethin’ big you’re gonna wanna see for yourself…but I don’t think we can take the others with us for this one.”</p>
<p>“Oh?” Domino’s eyebrow raises again in a look of curiosity. “We have to go without Loony and Gandra? That <b>does </b>sound serious. Where exactly are we going?”</p>
<p>“Can’t talk about it here.” He says with a shake of his head. “Let’s just grab one of the backup pods, I know the way.”</p>
<p>Domino walks closer, pulling back the sleeve on his right arm to reveal a black watch similar to the one the melanite checked earlier in the field. “Just a moment, I got a message from High Command earlier and they wanted me to make sure everyone else got it.” He pushes a button on the screen shaped like a star-sapphire. “Gandra, I got a message regarding a possible Code Zultanite. Did you?”</p>
<p>The voice of the star-sapphire from earlier is heard through the watch’s speakers. “Yeah, I got that message. Loony?”</p>
<p>An image of a heart-shaped spinel appears on the screen as the spinel from earlier can be heard now. “Code Zulta- ohhhh! Yep! I got that too!”</p>
<p>“Good to know we’re all on the same page.” Domino walks over to the door and puts his hand on a small panel next to it, opening the door up quickly. “Now that that’s out of the way..” He doesn’t finish his statement- instead, he raises one hand and a white barrier forms in front of him. He then thrusts his hand forward, sending the barrier crashing into the melanite with a great deal of momentum that sends him flying out of the room.</p>
<p>“!!!” The melanite hits the closed door on the other side of the hall, wincing from the impact. “Hey, what’s the big ide-?!” He ducks just in time to avoid a burst of flames aimed directly at his head. “Woah!” He scrambles to get out of the way of another shot of fire, running down the hall to avoid the attack.</p>
<p>Domino follows him out into the hall, a pistol held in his right hand. “Oh, I think you <em>know </em>what the ‘big idea’ is…or do I have to make it even clearer for you?” He brings his left hand to the gem on his chest, the stone glowing as he pulls a second gun identical to the first out of his gem. He aims and fires the second gun at the floor below the retreating gem’s feet right as the barrel turns an icy blue, a bullet of the same color hitting the ground and freezing it over with a smooth sheet of ice.</p>
<p>“Ack!” The melanite slips and falls over, wincing again when he hits the ground. He isn’t given long to linger on the sensation, though, as he’s forced to quickly roll to the side to avoid a yellow bullet sparking with electricity that had been aimed right at his head. “Stars!” He swears under his breath, getting to his feet again once he’s off of the icy patch and trying to run while keeping an eye on the snowflake obsidian.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, this proves to be a mistake for him, as he doesn’t notice the black and white striped leg stretching across the floor in his path until it’s too late. The spinel from earlier stretches down from the ceiling and gives the melanite a light shove with her hand. “Tag, you’re it!” She laughs as he ends up tripping over her leg.</p>
<p>“Not yet, Loony.” The star-sapphire from earlier is standing over him when he lands on the ground, taking off one of her gloves. With the black fabric gone, dark lines that look like circuitry wired into her palm are revealed. “<b><em>Now </em></b>he’s it.” The lines on her hand light up right before she touches his face.</p>
<p>A powerful bolt of white electricity goes through the melanite’s body, making him spasm and twitch before everything goes dark…</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Keeping the first chapter fairly short to help with the pacing and properly establish each of the characters :)</p>
<p>Fun side note- I wanted to make Steelbeak and Domino part of a team as a mirror to the main story that focuses mostly on the Fearsome Four with occasional appearances from the Crystal Ducks (Darkwing, Launchpad, Gizmoduck, and Gosalyn). Both of the other main teams for the series were in groups of four, so I thought it would be fitting to make a F.O.W.L. team too :D Gandra was someone I’d already thought of putting on the team because I liked her DT17 design and already mentioned her before in the character bios along with Steelbeak.</p>
<p>When trying to figure out who would be the best option for the final member of the team, I remembered Eleanorose123‘s and Delwrite‘s ‘s pictures of Domino and Loony and felt like she would be a perfect fit that perfectly balances the group on multiple levels: Her cheerful disposition serves as a counterbalance for how sarcastic or cynical the others can get sometimes. Like Gandra, she’s a gem that doesn’t have a weapon of her own since she was never made to be a battle gem, but her stretchy, impenetrable body acts as a weapon in and-of-itself, similar to how Gandra uses the electrified white gem-destabilizers in her hand as a way to fight despite her purpose. I also really liked the balance of short to mid-range attacks she would be capable of in combat and enjoyed the idea that the girls (Gandra and Loony) on the team would be more of the up-close brawlers while the guys (Domino and Steelbeak) would be more of the mid to long-range fighters with their weapons. Add to all of this the fact that her and Domino have a sibling-like relationship AND that she would be someone who knew him back when he was with Checkers and there’s no way I could resist asking Del for permission to use this awesome character and I am so so SO glad I did because she works so well off of everyone else!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Domino and the others wake up their captive to ask him a few questions. Will he cooperate, or is he as stubborn as the real-deal?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Wanted to go ahead and give a trigger warning for some PTSD in this one because Domino’s past trauma plays a big role throughout this story, but it really starts to show in this chapter.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Wake up.” A harsh voice says right before the melanite feels something hard and metallic strike him across his face.</p>
<p>“Nh..” He slowly blinks his eyes open, looking around as he tries to reorient himself in the dark room lit only by a single lighting crystal above his head.</p>
<p>As he takes in his surroundings, he finds that he is seated in a silver chair. Looking down, he notices that he’s tied up with what he at first thinks is a black and white rope, but he quickly learns it is actually the arm of the spinel from before when he sees a grey gloved hand wave at him. Looking to either side of him, he sees the spinel on his left and the star-sapphire on his right. Finally, looking in front of him, he sees the snowflake obsidian glaring down at him with one of his pistols- presumably what hit him across the face- held in one of his hands where his arms were crossed in front of his chest.</p>
<p>“Now that you’re awake,” Domino looks down at the melanite with a menacing expression on his face as he begins the interrogation. “We have a few questions for you. Namely, who you are, who you work for, and-” He uncrosses his arms to reveal that the watch the melanite had been wearing before is now clutched in his hand. “-what you’ve done with my <b><em>partner</em></b>.” He puts the watch down on a nearby table, only the corner of it visible in the dim lighting of the room. “Let’s start with who you are and how you managed to activate Steelbeak’s gem-ID-locked beacon.” He narrows his eyes at the other gem in warning. “Now drop the disguise and <b>talk</b>.”</p>
<p>“……” The melanite smirks after a moment. “Gee, was my actin’ that bad? I thought I really nailed the lingo.” His gem glows for a moment as his appearance begins to shift. His body proportions and colors remain largely the same, but his outfit changes from the suit he was wearing before to a pair of black and white pin-stripe pants held up with black suspenders, a white button-up shirt with the top three buttons open and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, black suede chukka boots, sheer black shortie-cut gloves, an undone red bowtie hanging loosely off of his neck, a fedora that matches his pants with a white band holding up a red rose on his left side sitting on his head to push his comb down so that it hangs down to the left rather than sit straight up, and a white surgical mask with a black X and O on the front covering his beak. One thing that doesn’t change about him, however, is his gemstone- the gem still being a black ball-cut melanite in the exact same location. “I gotta know,” He says with a chuckle. “What gave me away?”</p>
<p>“Everything.” Domino looks the gem over, taking in his true appearance indifferently. “Where do I even start?”</p>
<p>“Oh! Oh! I know where to start!” Loony raises her free hand and jumps up and down a few times before looking at the melanite. “You called me ‘sweetheart’. Steely never calls me that! Plus, you said you forgot to bring me back a present- and Steely never, ever, EVER forgets!”</p>
<p>“He also never apologizes for knocking someone over.” Gandra leans against the wall beside the melanite with her arms folded. “If it was Loony, sure, he’d probably help <em>her</em> up, but they’d both just laugh it off. If it was Domino, he’d be too busy running to the other end of the ship. <b>Me</b>, though?” She rolls her eyes with an annoyed sigh. “The big jerk just laughs and tells me he ‘can’t see me down there’.”</p>
<p>“To put it simply, you were way too polite to be the real Steelbeak.” Domino says with a slow shake of his head. “You knocked instead of just walking in- Steelbeak hasn’t bothered knocking on my door for the past few thousand years. You also didn’t try to correct me for using the wrong code- Steelbeak is an egomaniac and loves showing off how much more he knows then everyone else, he’d jump at a chance to tell me that <b><em>I</em></b> said something wrong for a change. Not to mention you called Loony and Gandra ‘ladies’.”</p>
<p>“Pfft!” Gandra barely stops herself from laughing out loud at that, bringing a fist up to her beak as her shoulders shake with suppressed laughter. “Wait, he <b>seriously</b> said that?”</p>
<p>“Hahahahahaaahahaaaa!” Loony, on the other hand, doesn’t even try to hold in her giggles. In fact, she ends up falling to the ground and holding her stomach as she rolls around in a hysterical fit of laughter. “St-Steely..calling US ladi-pfft, ahahahahaaaa, I can’t even <b><em>say </em></b>it!”</p>
<p>The melanite glances back and forth between the female gems with a cocked brow. “What should I have said?”</p>
<p>“Dames.” Gandra answers first, a grin still on her face from the apparent absurdity of the idea.</p>
<p>“Dolls.” Loony gets out between chuckles as she gets back up to her feet, an immensely amused smile still on her own face.</p>
<p>“Even ‘girls’ or ‘gals’ would have been more acceptable.” Domino seems to be the only one still able to maintain a sense of seriousness for the moment. “Still,” He looks at the melanite’s gemstone, reaching over to tap it with his pistol. “I suppose we can give you some points for the voice and appearance..the stone looks like the real deal.”</p>
<p>“That’s ‘cause it is, bright eyes.” The melanite’s beak may be hidden, but they can all feel the proud smirk in his tone of voice. “I’m the gen-u-ine article: Black melanite, facet 3J8B-NVSB.”</p>
<p>“Another melanite..” Domino muses aloud. “And the same cut, no less…well, that explains how you were able to use his beacon: We hadn’t accounted for there being another black melanite within the closest five solar systems- let alone one with the exact same cut. The odds of that happening by mere coincidence would have to be at least 100,000,000,000,000 to 1.”</p>
<p>“Guess I’m just that lucky, huh?” The melanite says sarcastically. The sarcasm is short lived, though, as the pistol in the snowflake obsidian’s hand strikes him across the face with even more force than before. “Ow! Freakin’ STARS! Can’t you take a <em>joke</em>?!”</p>
<p>Domino glares down at his captive, moving his gun so that it’s pressed to the melanite’s head threateningly- his finger on the trigger. “My apologies,” His tone is calm, contradicting his threatening body language in an unsettling way that sends chills down the restrained gem’s back. “But I’m afraid I’m not one for jokes when my <b>partner</b> is <em>missing</em>.” He brings his empty hand up to grip the other gem’s stone, a thick white barrier appearing over the hand like a glove with the dual purpose of keeping him from directly touching the melanite as well as adding more force to the grip he begins applying to the stone. “Now, tell us who you work for &amp; where they’re keeping Steelbeak and I’ll <b><em>consider</em></b> ending your existence painlessly.”</p>
<p>He hisses and winces in pain from the force on his stone, speaking quickly. “Hey, hey, now, no need for any of that, I’ll talk!” He lets out a relieved sigh when the pressure on his gem decreases, though the hand doesn’t retract at all. “Now, I ain’t gonna tell ya who I work for-” He receives a glare of warning, but continues speaking before the painful pressure can return. “-because this ain’t a work-related thing. This is just me doin’ a favor for a friend of a friend.”</p>
<p>“And just who would this ‘friend of a friend’ happen to be?” Domino’s patience is clearly running thin.</p>
<p>“A mutual acquaintance of ours by the name of ‘the Liquidator’.” The melanite watches the previously irritated look in the snowflake obsidian’s eyes briefly change to one of surprise before he schools his features back to their previous state.</p>
<p>“Liqui?” He doesn’t seem to be the only one surprised to hear the name, though, as Loony looks at the melanite with a confused expression. “Why would Liqui take Steely? I thought they still weren’t talking to each other??”</p>
<p>“They aren’t..” Domino eyes the melanite skeptically. “Which begs the question of WHY Liquidator would bother taking him?”</p>
<p>The melanite shrugs. “Sorry, bright eyes, he didn’t give me all the details. Most I know is he wanted t’ talk t’ YOU and your partner wasn’t too keen on cooperatin’.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, that sounds about right for him…” Domino sighs in mild annoyance before looking at their captive again. “I’m assuming Liquidator wants to do a hostage exchange?”</p>
<p>“Wooooow, you really are the smart one here, ain’t ya?” The melanite’s tone is sarcastic again as he leans back as much as he can with Loony’s arm still binding him. “Yeah, that was the plan from the beginnin’. Honestly, actually gettin’ ya to tag along was, like, Plan C. He figured you’d peg me for a fake before we got too far- said you’d be smart enough to tell I wasn’t the real-deal, but even <b><em>I</em></b> didn’t think you’d figure it out <em>that</em> fast.”</p>
<p>“Oh, please…” Domino rolls his eyes, quickly getting annoyed by the bound gem’s sarcastic praising in a voice that was far too familiar for his liking. “We’ve fought together since Era One. I could hardly call myself his partner if I couldn’t tell the real deal from a cheap imitation after all this time.” He taps the melanite’s gem to show his irritation and loss of patience with the conversation. “Now, are you going to cooperate and give us the coordinates for the rendezvous, or are we going to have to pry them out of you?”</p>
<p>To his credit, the impostor did a good job of not flinching or giving away how nervous the obsidian’s touch to his gem made him feel. “Hey now, I wasn’t forged last century- I ain’t givin ya the coordinates THAT easily.” His eyes clearly communicate the smirk hidden on his beak under the mask. “Start flyin’ north by two degrees east towards the country called ‘Oilrabia’ for about 500 miles. I’ll give ya the next direction after that.”</p>
<p>“……” Domino glares at the arrogant gem, gripping the melanite’s stone in his fingers harshly once more to make him squirm and wince from the pain. “You seem to forget that WE are the ones calling the shots here- not you. I could <b>break</b> you right here &amp; now and leave your shards scattered around this worthless world for your ‘acquaintance’ to find over the next few years.” He narrows his eyes with a scowl, the look in his eyes speaking volumes’ worth of murderous intent as he grips hard enough that the pressure could start cracking the gem at any moment. “Give me <b>one</b> good reason why I shouldn’t grind you down to dust and scatter you to the wind.”</p>
<p>The melanite cringes from the pain of having his gemstone squeezed so harshly, knowing instantly that the snowflake obsidian is DONE playing games with him by this point. Well, might as well use his trump card, right?</p>
<p>“You ain’t gonna let another partner you care about get shattered ‘cause you <b><em>weren’t there</em></b>, are you?”</p>
<p>“?!” The comment makes not only Domino’s eyes widen in surprise, but Loony’s as well. “How did you-?” He begins to ask, but is cut off by the melanite.</p>
<p>“Liquidator didn’t tell me much,” He relaxes slightly when the obsidian’s grip relents, even if the hand does still stay on his gem. “But he told me sayin’ somethin’ like that would get a good reaction outta ya- and he was <b>not</b> wrong about that.” He glances at the female gems on either side of him. “These two figured me out pretty quick, but <b>you</b>-” He looks back up into startled red eyes confidently. “-YOU knew from just one look that I wasn’t the real deal, right? You only bothered baitin’ me int’ talkin’ as a formality. That means you care about this Steelbeak jerk enough t’ know ‘im like the back of your hand. You did say you were partners since Era One, right? That’s gotta be, what? Five, six thousand years together? Probably longer than that with how close you two are.” There’s that look in his eyes again- the look that shows he’s smirking behind that stupid mask of his. “You <b>know</b> what Liquidator’s capable of…and ya know he don’t like Steelbeak enough t’ keep him alive if he doesn’t think he’ll get anythin’ for the trouble…do ya <em>really </em>think you’d be able t’ handle findin’ his <b>shards</b> floatin’ in the sea just ‘cause you couldn’ get t’ ‘im in time?”</p>
<p>Domino’s eyes are wide as he stares at the melanite- actually, no. He’s staring THROUGH him. The words he’s said echo in the obsidian’s mind, causing images to flash in front of his eyes as his consciousness teeters between the present and a point far in the past:</p>
<p>“…couldn’ get t’ ‘im in time…”</p>
<p>
  <em>He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, turning sharp corners and using his barriers to keep him from crashing into anyone or anything in his way. His part of the base had just been cleared of enemies, they couldn’t fault him for going to assist the next section, right? He-<b>They</b> weren’t responding, so they must have needed all the help they could get! He would get there in time to help and-!</em>
</p>
<p>“…findin’ his <b>shards</b>…”</p>
<p>
  <em>He froze when he came around the corner into the next hall. It couldn’t be…those shards could belong to anyone, right…? His body moved of its own accord, bringing him closer and closer to the gleaming red and black shards sitting on top of a red scarf that he knew all too well- after all, he’d given the appearance modifier to the fire opal to celebrate their first successful mission as partners…</em>
</p>
<p>“…partner you care about…shattered…”</p>
<p>
  <em>He fell to his knees, his hands trembling as he reached for the small shards and slivers. The once smooth stone now felt so jagged in his palms. But…why…? Why had this happened? He’d just spoken to him- just <b>seen</b> him not that long ago! Why was this all that was left of him?!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>…Wait…why WAS this all that was left of him…? There were only a couple of the fire opal’s shards, where was the rest of him? He ignored the stinging tears in his eyes, shouting to get the attention of the nearby eggmen and demanding to know where the rest of the shards were. Their lack of solid, coherent answers only added to the rage and sorrow warring in his gem and he began to lash out at the soldiers. The last thing he remembered was one of the higher-ranking generals pulling out a broken white gem destabilizer before everything went dark. When he woke up again, he was alone with nothing but the red scarf in one hand and his shattered partner’s remains in the other…</em>
</p>
<p>“…you <b>weren’t there</b>…”</p>
<p>
  <em>“Dommy…” Loony sat on the floor in front of him, the two of them in his private quarters- the same place he’d stayed since “the incident” that was both too long ago and not far enough in the past yet. “It’s not your fault…you weren’t there…you couldn’t have-” Her words, some of the words that she’d repeated to him over and over again over the years since it happened, were cut off by a ringing sound in the other room. “Uh oh, I’ll be right back..” She sprung up from the floor and went to the other room to answer the call, accidentally leaving the door open in her haste. “Hiya! Sorry, but Domino’s not quiiiiiiiite ready to talk to anyone yet. Just gimme another year or two and I’ll have him rarin’ to go-!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“You’ve said the same thing every month for the past thirty years. We are <b>done</b> waiting.” A harsh voice rudely interrupted Loony, making Domino’s eyes narrow and a scowl form on his beak as he pushed himself to his feet after who-knows-how-many-years of sitting in the same spot in the corner of his room. “Now tell him to get in here or we will-”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“There’s no need for that, sirs.” He walked into the room, coming up to stand beside Loony in front of the large hologram-monitor displaying three shadowy gems. “What do you need?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“It’s about time you finally answered, Agent Domino.” The gem in the middle gave him a harsh look that would’ve made a lesser gem shiver in fear. “You are being reassigned to a new sector. We will have a ship there to collect you and your spinel-” Domino’s fist clenched slightly, but he bit back the usual reply he gave when someone said those words. “-in three days. Do <b>not</b> keep your new partner waiting.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>A new partner? Already? But it had only been-</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Understood, sirs.” He gave the automatic reply and bowed his head, ignoring the thoughts swirling within his mind.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Loony gave him a worried look when he didn’t look back up after the screen vanished. “Dommy? Hey, Dommy? Domini-?”</em>
</p>
<p>“-my? Dommy, you okay?” Loony’s neck is stretched so that her face is close to Domino’s, looking him in the eyes with a worried frown.</p>
<p>He blinks twice, shaking off the visions plaguing his mind so that he can return to the present- and to the task at hand. “I’m fine.” He looks past her to the melanite in the chair, the jerk having the nerve to still be smirking at him for his earlier words. “……” He sighs and closes his eyes for a moment to calm himself, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “Fine.” He opens his eyes once more and directs his next statement to their captive. “We’ll keep you alive…at least until we find where Liquidator is holding Steelbeak.” He can just <b>tell</b> the cocky gem is about to say something annoying, so he glances at the star-sapphire beside him instead. “Gandra.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, yeah, I know.” She takes off one of her fingerless gloves again, the lines on her palm lighting up like before.</p>
<p>The melanite sees the hand approaching him and tries to back away, though it proves futile with the spinel’s arm still wrapped tightly around him. “Woah, hey, that wasn’t part of the-!!” His protests turn into a startled yelp of pain when the destabilizing current makes contact with his head, causing him to spasm and twitch like before until his eyes turn a blank, vacant white color and his body goes limp.</p>
<p>Loony laughs as she unwinds her arm from around the now-unconscious gem, shaking off the stray sparks of white electricity on her extra-long limb. “That always tickles!” She grins before noticing Domino turning the lights back on and heading for the door. “Dommy?” She stretches her upper body over to meet him on his way out. “Whatcha doin’?”</p>
<p>“I’m going to the controls to adjust the auto-pilot’s path.” He looks back at her as well as Gandra with a calm, unreadably neutral expression on his face. “We’ll follow standard F.O.W.L. protocol: Keep two guards in the room at all times. Destabilize or bind him if he shows absolutely any signs of consciousness. Don’t keep him awake any longer than necessary.” He glances between the female gems. “Think you two can handle the first watch?”</p>
<p>“Sure.” Gandra shrugs, leaning against the wall behind her in preparation for a long shift.</p>
<p>“Abso-tootly-lutely!” Loony stretches and loops her arm up to her head so that she can give a playful salute. “You can count on me!” She smiles brightly at him, making him smile back at her fondly.</p>
<p>“I always do.” He says sincerely before exiting the room, leaving Gandra and Loony alone with their unconscious prisoner.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Warned you guys there’d be some PTSD and trauma involved in the story. Also, apologies in advance, but the story as a whole DOES involve a lot of flashbacks, as well, so be prepared for lots of jumping around between the past and the present in the rest of the chapters ^^”</p>
<p>On a more fun note, if no one guessed it already, the impostor is actually my own version of Nega-verse Steelbeak, who will likely be making an appearance in my next installment of my Friendly Four series! I wanted to give him an outfit reminiscent of a 1920′s gangster, but tempered with a bit of fun and a relaxed demeanor (hence the rose in his hat, the face mask that hides his metallic beak when he’s out in public, and the tie he never bothers remembering to ACTUALLY tie). He’s a clever and strong guy with a good heart, and while regular-universe Steelbeak specializes in espionage and manipulation, negaverse-Steelbeak specializes in psychological profiling and rescue missions.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Left alone with nothing else to talk about, Gandra gets Loony to tell her how exactly she and the rest of the team know Blue Diamond’s strongest and most prized lapis lazuli so well.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Okay, getting into some backstory finally with this one!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Once Domino’s gone, Gandra looks at Loony from her spot against the wall. “So, what’s the deal with you three and this Liquidator guy? I heard he’s Blue Diamond’s favorite lapis lazuli, but I’ve never heard anything about him working for F.O.W.L.”</p><p>Loony has a confused look on her face before the realization seems to dawn on her. “Oh riiiiiiiight, that was <em>before</em> you joined.” Her body returns to its usual proportions so that she’s standing by Gandra properly again. “Before the war, Liqui used to go on missions with us all the time!”</p><p>Gandra raises an eyebrow curiously at the statement. “So he <em>is</em> a F.O.W.L. agent?”</p><p>“Nope.” Loony shakes her head. “He never joined F.O.W.L., but he does know about it.”</p><p>“Wait,” Gandra just looks even more confused by the spinel’s explanation. “If he’s not an agent, then why did he go on missions with you and the guys?”</p><p>“Because we were friends!” Loony answers matter-of-factly with a smile. “The four of us used to have so much fun…”</p><p>
  <em>A planet lay in ruins, looking as if it were the scene of a horrible, destructive war. Buildings had been leveled. Bodies lined the streets and fields- all filled with bullet holes or lying with crushed limbs and necks. A good portion of the planet was on fire while the rest had been flooded under their planet’s own sea water.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>On the planet’s surface, though, there were only two groups fighting: One was a large army of organic creatures with orange skin, multiple limbs, and three eyes- although their army was huge and their weapons fairly advanced, the bodies strewn across the planet all seemed to be that of their own kind. The other was a small group of four gems venturing further into the enemy’s territory, leaving nothing but destruction in their wake.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>At the front of the pack, Loony leapt and stretched all over the battlefield, drawing the enemy’s fire. “Bet you can’t catch me!” She teased, sticking her tongue out at them.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The soldiers tried to fire their weapons at her, but the glowing red shots just bounced off of her skin harmlessly. While they were distracted by Loony, however, the other gems were able to take out the soldiers from behind.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Incoming!!” One of the soldiers shouted in fear as a blinking red egg-shaped crystal was thrown at them.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The soldiers tried to scatter, but, before they could get far, a large white barrier began to close around them, forming a dome that trapped many of them inside with the crystal. They tried desperately to break through the barrier, both from the inside and the outside, but it was no use. The shield held strong, not even cracking when the crystal turned completely red before detonating in a blinding red light, destroying everything within the dome in a controlled explosion.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“A warning would be appreciated next time.” Domino snapped his fingers, finally letting the barrier drop to reveal the smoking crater within. “I could have made it bigger- then we would have gotten more than half of them.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Dom, Dom, Dom,” Steelbeak shook his head from where he stood next to Domino on a floating diamond-shaped platform made of black energy. The melanite’s beak was shorter with a smoother look to it back then. He also sported a yellow bowtie instead of a black one and his eyebrows were a bit less defined. “You’re thinkin’ too small, snowflake. Killin’ ‘em all at once is too easy.” He lobbed another glowing crystal at the scattered soldiers, watching as Domino once again formed a white dome-barrier around the organic creatures to ensure their death. “Where’s the <b>style</b>? Where’s the <b>pizzazz</b>? Where’s the <b>FUN</b>?” He pointed down towards the fourth member of their group on the ground below them, leaning closer to his partner to speak in a conspiratorial whisper. “Besides- we gotta keep <b>someone</b> entertained, right?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Domino glanced down, watching as the water along the battlefield began to recede in preparation for what was to come. “You <b>do</b> have a point there.” He brought his fingers to his beak and whistled, gaining the attention of the spinel still playing around with the soldiers and their futile attempts to shoot her. “Loony, time to go!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Loony stretched her head up above where her body was grabbing and throwing the organics aside with ease, making it easier for her to shout over to Domino and Steelbeak. “Awww, already?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“ ‘fraid so, Loons.” Steelbeak nodded behind her poignantly. “It’s drippy’s turn t’ play.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Loony turned her head to see behind her, her earlier pout quickly turning into an excited smile. “Oooh, that’s gonna be a BIG one!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>With a flick of his fingers, Steelbeak summoned a series of slightly smaller black diamond-shaped platforms between them and Loony. The stretchy spinel was able to stretch and flip up the panels with the ease of ascending a staircase, joining the other gems on the bigger platform high above the battlefield. She got up there just in time, it seemed, as no more than a minute later a roaring tidal wave washed over the ground below them.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Standing on top of the wave was the Liquidator- a tall, buff, intimidating being that looked like a dog made completely out of water with a tear-drop cut royal blue lapis lazuli gemstone visible in his right hand. His outfit consisted mainly of a long royal blue colored robe similar to a yukata with midnight blue trim and a subtle rippling wave-pattern in sapphire blue throughout the garment that culminated around a shining blue diamond-shaped insignia on his chest, the outfit tied shut with a dark oxford blue sash at his waist. The whole outfit appeared to be made of the same water as his body, constantly moving and rippling at the same rate as the rest of his form with the bottom of the robe just being part of the puddle connecting him to the massive wave below him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The battlefield became part of the ocean that had claimed the planet in virtually no time at all. With a smirk on his face, Liquidator made the water beneath him rise up so that he was level with the other gems. “Feeling drained? Stressed out from the daily grind of grinding down planets for your diamonds and/or shadowy organizations? Then relieve your stress with the fun new game literally sweeping the nation: ‘Skarwal Shooter’!” He did a grand gesture to the drowning soldiers in the water below them. “Grab a gun, line ‘em up, and take a shot at these realistic moving targets! Fun for the whole crew- guaranteed or your money back!” He controlled the water and the bodies in it, juggling them in the air and spinning them around in whirlpools.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I wanna play!” Loony watched the flipping and flying targets with a look of pure glee and excitement on her face.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Steelbeak chuckled and touched the gem on his chest with both hands. One hand pulled out a gleaming silver tommy-gun with a jet black grip and matching stocks, while the other pulled out a matching long-barreled .38 revolver. He tossed the revolver to Loony so she’d have a weapon of her own, keeping the tommy-gun hoisted up on his shoulder. “Ya know, Liq’s, it’s a good thing we DON’T get paid, or you’d end up with half our money!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“More than that with the games he talks you two into.” Domino shook his head with a roll of his eyes, pretending to sound annoyed but the tone of his voice and the look in his eyes was undeniably fond.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Ah, the downsides of being a convincing salesman in a society with nothing to sell.” Liquidator chuckled, forming a chair out of the water under him so he could watch the other gems have their fun shooting at the struggling soldiers before joining in as well- shooting bullets made of ice from the tip of his finger while pointing it like a gun. “Still, there are a few things in life we can enjoy- even if I can’t take your paychecks!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>They all smiled and grinned in their own ways while picking off the last of the soldiers, enjoying their sadistic version of “shooting fish in a barrel”.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Hours later, after double and triple checking that the last of the organics had been wiped out, Loony led Liquidator through the ship with her hands covering his eyes. “Alrighty, Liqui, just a liiiiittle further..and remember, no peeking!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Liquidator chuckled at the spinel’s antics, but obliged and kept his eyes in place behind her grey-gloved hands. “You have the Liquidator-brand 100% peek-free guarantee…but that guarantee is good for a limited time only, so act now.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Okaaaaayyy, now!” She removed her hands from in front of his eyes, finally allowing him to see again.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“??” When he opened his eyes and looked in front of him, Liquidator saw the hall holding the other gems’ rooms. His eyes widened when he saw that the door at the end of the hall, which had previously been left blank, now had an image of his own gemstone embedded in it. “Is..Is that…?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Yep!” Loony grinned as she grabbed his hand, guiding it over to the panel by the door.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>When his hand touched the panel, the door slid open, allowing them to walk in together. He saw Domino and Steelbeak waiting inside, both looking pleased at his reaction.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Told ya we’d get ‘im good with this one!” Steelbeak grinned smugly, his arms folded in front of his chest. “He didn’t see it comin’ at all!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Domino sighed and shook his head with an exasperated smile at his partner’s attitude. “That IS the point of a surprise..” He looked back over to Liquidator. “So, what do you think?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Liquidator looked around the room, fully taking in all the little details. As with most of the rooms, there wasn’t a lot of furniture, but there was still a table carved from light blue crystals with matching chairs that were made to look as if they were carved from ice. The left half of the room had been converted into a small pool filled with crystal clear water, the bottom of it lined with glowing blue crystals that bathed the entire room in a soft, ethereal glow. What made him smile the most, though, was that on the right side of the room on the wall above the table and chairs was a holo-disk displaying an image of the four of them after their first mission together: Liquidator standing in the middle of the image with his arms crossed, Domino on his right, Steelbeak on his left, and Loony stretched up behind him with her hands making shapes behind Domino and Steelbeak’s heads so they looked like they had mammalian ears.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He looked at the trio of darker gems with a grin that was even brighter (and far more genuine) than the one he’d had earlier on the battlefield. “Nine out of ten royal blue lapis lazuli’s agree: This room is perfect.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“You’d better not be that tenth one, Liq,” Steelbeak teased the lapis lazuli with an equally bright grin. “ ‘cause we ain’t redecoratin’! You’d better appreciate this- we don’t go around givin’ just ANYONE a spot on the crew, ya know?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I know.” Liquidator’s grin softened into a smile. “And I appreciate it.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>They all shared a smile over the blue gem’s words. He only dropped the salesman-talk when he was being genuine, something they’d come to understand after many missions together.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“We need to celebrate!” Loony jumped up, wrapping her arms around Liquidator and leaping at the pool. “Pool party!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>They landed with a big splash (a bit too big for Liquidator NOT to have been a part of it). The resulting wave went far enough to wash over both Steelbeak and Domino.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Hey!” Steelbeak scowled when he got soaked from head to toe, trying to shake the water out of his comb. A mild glare was added to his expression when he looked at his partner and saw that the snowflake obsidian was completely dry thanks to a thin, translucent white shield encasing his entire body. “Really? Ya couldn’t’ve got me, too?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I could..” Domino side-eyed his partner with a teasing smirk when his barrier dissipated. “But where’s the <b>FUN</b> in that?” He paraphrased the taller gem’s words with a quiet chuckle.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Oh, so you actually LIKE havin’ fun, huh?” Steelbeak’s eyes briefly flicked to the pair in the pool, the two gems grinning as they returned the unspoken sentiment in full.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Well it IS a party, after all.” The loon missed the conspiratorial glances around him. “And what better place to have fun than a party?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Yeah, you’re right, it IS a party.” Steelbeak grinned down at the other gem, subtly moving one hand behind his back. With a flick of his fingers, a small black diamond appeared under Domino’s feet. “A POOL party.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Before the obsidian had time to react, the diamond shaped platform tilted upwards at an angle, sending him off balance. When he tried to regain his footing, he ended up stepping on one of Loony’s outstretched arms and falling backwards into a small wave generated by Liquidator- the wave quickly drawing him back so that he ended up in the pool alongside the other two occupants.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“……” Domino had ended up at the bottom of the pool before slowly floating back to the top, lying on his back on the water’s surface as he calmly spit a small stream of the liquid from his beak. “Alright…” He closed his eyes for a moment, his expression neutral and unreadable as he stood and retrieved his hat from where it was floating nearby. Once it was back in its proper place, he opened his eyes and looked at the rest of the ship’s small crew with a smirk. “If that’s how we’re going to play…” He withdrew one of his pistols from his gem, the barrel inside turning an icy blue color.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Ice bullets!” Loony shouted while jumping out of the pool. “Run!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>They all ran away from the pool, laughing at the impromptu game of (literal) freeze-tag that had begun. It was a fun and fitting way to welcome their newest official member to the crew…</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This part was a lot of fun to write ^^ The battle scene from the past put all of their skills to good use while the scene with Liquidator’s room got to show a more relaxed side of the team- a good work-life balance, at the end of the day.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>While Loony remembers Liquidator’s time on the team fondly, Domino’s memories of the canine are far from pleasant…</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>More backstory in this one with a side of Domino and Gandra being snarky with each other x3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“We went on a bunch more missions together after that.” Loony finishes her story with a bright smile. “Liqui always had to go back to Blue Diamond afterwards, but anytime Dommy and Steely called him, he was happy to come play with us!”</p>
<p>“Then what happened?” Gandra asks from her spot on the floor across from Loony. “If you were all such good friends, then why’d he stop tagging along on missions and leave the crew?”</p>
<p>Loony’s smile falls, turning into a slight frown. “I….don’t know.” She looks away, chin propped against her crossed arms where they rest on her raised knees. “We went on a couple of missions after he was done fighting in the gem war for Blue Diamond…but..he was different..”</p>
<p>“Different?” Gandra asks with a tilt of her head. “How?”</p>
<p>“He said he met someone on Earth. He was always in a rush to get back to homeworld after we were done- he didn’t want to hang out and play with us like he used to…” Loony’s frown deepens the more she speaks. “Then, one day, I went out to get supplies after a mission…when I got back, Liqui was gone, Steely looked different, and Dommy &amp; Steely said Liqui wasn’t coming back again…” She wraps her arms around herself a few times. “They said they were okay with it, but I felt bad things from them for a while after he left…”</p>
<p>Before Gandra has the chance to ask for any more information, the door opens and Domino walks into the room. “We’re on course, but there’s still some time left before we reach the mile marker.” He looks between the two other gems and notices Loony’s posture and the expression on her face. “……” He walks over and kneels down next to her. “How about you take the next break, Loony? You can go sit in the control room, if you want- we’re over the ocean right now and the sun is setting, so the view is nice.”</p>
<p>Loony’s mood brightens instantly as she looks at Domino with an excited smile. “Really?”</p>
<p>He nods with a fond smile of his own. “Just don’t touch the controls- the autopilot’s already been set in the right direction. Come get us when it says we’ve reached 500 miles.”</p>
<p>“Okie dokie!” She jumps up and over him, stretching herself to the door and out of the room. “Thanks, Dommy!”</p>
<p>Once the door closes behind her, Domino summons a small oval-shaped white barrier on the ground below him and sits on it- the barrier having quite a bit of elasticity to it, letting it act as a cushion. “Depression doesn’t suit Loony at all.” He looks over to Gandra as she adjusts her legs to be more comfortable as well. “What were you two talking about?”</p>
<p>“Liquidator.” Gandra’s answer is straightforward, as expected of the star-sapphire. “I wanted to know what we were up against.” She glances at the door Loony left through a moment ago. “I didn’t know he was an old friend of y-”</p>
<p>“We <b>weren’t</b> friends.” Domino cuts her off before she can continue. “Loony may have seen him as a friend, but he was merely a coworker- and <em>barely</em> that.” He tries to sound calm and clinical, but the hardened look in his eyes and the way his hands clench from their crossed position in his lap doesn’t go unnoticed by his crew-member.</p>
<p>“Oh yeah?” Gandra gives him a skeptical look. “From what Loony told me, it sounds like you and Steelbeak liked having this Liquidator guy around as much as she did and now you’re bitter that he left all of you behind.”</p>
<p>“We are not ‘bitter’, we were just…inconvenienced.” Domino’s voice remains unchanged, but he doesn’t make eye contact with Gandra. “He was a useful tool to bring with us on missions to planets with large bodies of water- not having him around made certain jobs a bit more challenging.”</p>
<p>Gandra’s skeptical look doesn’t go away- if anything it turns a bit cocky with the smirk on her beak. “Really? That door down the hall tells a different story.”</p>
<p>He gives the star-sapphire an annoyed frown coupled with a mildly irritated glare. “I thought you were a star-sapphire, not a <em>padparadscha</em>.”</p>
<p>“I don’t need to see the past to understand the present.” She only smirks more from his glare, that look serving as all the proof she needs to know she’s right. “You guys gave him a room on the ship, and you don’t just GIVE those away.” She gestures towards herself as she speaks. “You didn’t bother giving <b>ME</b> a room until I’d been on the crew for at least two thousand years, so he must have been with you guys for a while.” She nods in the direction Loony left in. “Plus Loony said she felt ‘bad things’ from you two after he left.”</p>
<p>“Loony was just worrying too much.” Domino glances in the same direction. “As I said, we were inconvenienced and irritated, that’s it.”</p>
<p>“Alright, then why didn’t you just get rid of him?” She counters. “You two aren’t exactly known for your mercy and generosity. Just letting a gem that ‘irritated’ you walk away without a scratch- especially one that could be considered a potential threat to F.O.W.L.- is out of character for you AND Steelbeak.”</p>
<p>“Liquidator is an elite gem with a high-standing on homeworld- his disappearance would be hard to cover up.” Domino’s argument sounds logical enough, but the star-sapphire’s expression never falters.</p>
<p>“You two have done cover-ups before. Would he really be that different from the other elite gems you’ve made ‘disappear’?” She arches a brow at him with a smirk.</p>
<p>“He is stronger than most elites.” Domino tries to stand his ground, despite knowing that he’s losing this argument already.</p>
<p>“Too strong for you two to handle?” Gandra questions with mock-surprise. “Or do you just <b><em>not want</em></b> to fight him?”</p>
<p>“We haven’t had a REASON to fight him before.” Domino adjusts his legs, looking for something to stare at besides the cocky engineer across from him. “I already told you, his leaving was an inconvenience and an irritation- we had no reason to hold a grudge against him for his decision, so why bother?”</p>
<p>“Then what happened to the door?” Gandra grins confidently at the snowflake obsidian. “Because THAT looks like someone holding a grudge, to me.”</p>
<p>“Steelbeak lost his temper, nothing new.” He tries to wave off her argument, but she doesn’t budge.</p>
<p>“Funny. Last I checked, <b>Steelbeak</b> doesn’t use <b>incendiary</b> ammo.” She gives his gem, where he would normally draw his pistols, a poignant stare.</p>
<p>“……” Domino’s scowl slowly turns into a frown as he looks down at his empty hands, his fingers flexing as if they itched to hold his familiar weapons. Or maybe it was his light-construct body remembering the feeling of holding them…and how he’d hesitated four thousand years ago…</p>
<p>
  <em>“OUT?” Steelbeak’s voice was incredulous as he stared at Liquidator, beak agape in disbelief. “Whattaya mean you want OUT?!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Liquidator leaned against the wall of his room with a frustrated frown on his face. “I mean exactly what I said: I want out of the crew.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Domino was calmer about the whole ordeal than his partner was, though he didn’t look any less put out by it. Before he could raise his voice again, the snowflake obsidian raised a hand to silence him. The melanite crossed his arms and glared at Liquidator, but did as his partner silently asked of him.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“This is about that sapphire you met, isn’t it?” Domino watched as the lapis lazuli’s expression softened at the mere mention of the odd little gem he’d met on Earth. “What happened this time?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“……” Liquidator’s frown gradually changed from frustration to regret. “Some garnets tried to start a fight with him while I was gone..Megavolt scared them off, but he’s not enough…” He sighed, his frown only deepening. “I have to stay with him..I promised I’d look after him- he’s MY responsibility…”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Oh, so you’re just gonna leave us high an’ dry ‘cause of some pretty little blue-eyed Earth rock?” Steelbeak had no trace of sympathy in his voice for the watery gem. He crossed the room over to Liquidator, looking down at him threateningly. “You ain’t walkin’ out on us that easy- not after all we did for you, not after all we’ve SEEN you do. Or don’t ya remember why you started taggin’ along with us in the first place?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“He does have a point.” Domino moved to his partner’s side to talk with Liquidator, standing closer to eye-level with the canine. “What are you going to do if you leave? You joined us because you needed an outlet for your aggression- do you think that’s just going to go away on its own? What if you get built up again? Or worse: What if you let that side out in front of HIM?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“……” Liquidator looked at the ground, his walls starting to come down as they always did when the pair of bird-gems preyed on his weaknesses.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Dom’s right, Liq.” Steelbeak’s voice lacked its earlier aggression, trying to come across as sympathetic. “We’ve seen what happens when ya lose control. Do ya REALLY wanna snap like that in front of your sweet little sapphire? What if he got <b>hurt</b>? You know how you get after a few centuries dealin’ with Blue Diamond’s court..”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“……” Liquidator deflated more at the melanite’s words, his posture losing all traces of its previous defensiveness. “I know..but…he <b>NEEDS</b> me…”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>His defenses were broken, they could see it in his eyes. After a couple thousand years of the same routine, they knew how to pick Liquidator apart. They knew what buttons to push and when to go in for the kill.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“ ‘Ey, we need ya too, Liq’s.” Steelbeak put an arm around the blue gem’s wet shoulders in a friendly gesture, giving him a reassuring smile. “You’re part of our crew, so we look out for each other. We wouldn’t want anything happenin’ to our <b>friend</b>, right?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Ah, the classic routine: Remind him of his troubles and insecurities, drive the point home about how he needs them, then act sympathetic and friendly to take advantage of his loneliness. It worked like a charm every-</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“ ‘<b>FRIEND</b>’?” Liquidator repeated the word back, a growl working its way into his voice. “You expect me to believe that we’re <b>FRIENDS</b>?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Wait, he was starting to stand up straighter again. He was…was <b>glaring</b> at them? That wasn’t his usual reaction- he was supposed to cave in and do what they wanted like he always did! Where was this coming from?!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Wha-?” Steelbeak looked down at the lapis lazuli in surprise when a chill went through the arm that was still around the aquatic gem’s shoulders. “O-Of course we’re friends, right, Deedee?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Right.” Domino nodded in agreement, though he kept a cautious eye on the other gem and his odd new behavior. “We’ve helped you out countless times since you joined us-”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Oh, is THAT what you’re calling it now?” Liquidator growled, forcefully removing Steelbeak’s arm from his shoulders while glaring at Domino. “You call <b>manipulating</b> me helpful? You call <b>using</b> me helpful?” He subconsciously called the water from the pool over to him, the liquid adding to the size of his body to make him taller and more imposing- allowing him to look down on not only Domino, but Steelbeak as well. “<b>Friends</b> don’t use each other’s mental problems against them! <b>Friends</b> don’t think of you as a tool to make their jobs easier! <b>Friends</b> don’t LIE TO YOUR FACE!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Woah, woah, bud, calm down!” Steelbeak held his hands up in a placating gesture, trying to defuse the situation. “We ain’t-”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Oh, save your lies for someone who will listen, because I am DONE!” Liquidator cut the melanite off, not allowing a single excuse to get past his beak. “You two must <b>really</b> think I’m stupid, huh? You think I didn’t figure out what scam you were selling me on? Well, guess what, I’m not as uninformed of a customer as you think because I KNOW.” He continued to loom over them threateningly, both in height and now in mass as he fully incorporated the water from the pool into his usual form. “The only thing you’ve ever cared about when it comes to me is my strength- you never once cared about ME!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“That’s not true!” Domino frowned up at the now-taller gem, looking him in the eyes with what he hoped was a believable amount of sincerity. “We’ve only ever had your best interests in mind. What will it take to make you believe us?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Oh, so we’re bartering now, are we?” The extra liquid left the lapis lazuli’s body and returned to its proper place in the pool. He folded his arms over his chest, his posture less threatening now but his walls were back up and reinforced stronger than ever. Seriously, where was this newfound confidence and aggression even COMING from? “Alright, I’m a reasonable businessman, so let’s see if we can strike a deal.” He tapped his chin in thought, but the gesture was clearly just for show. “Oh, I know!” He even snapped his fingers to pretend the idea had suddenly come to him. “Just let me bring him along and there won’t be any problems.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“You got sediment in your stone?!” Steelbeak’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Takin’ YOU along is already breakin’ protocol! We can’t-!” A white barrier appeared around the taller bird’s metallic beak, muffling his words.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“What he’s trying to say,” Domino ignored the side-eyed glare he got from his partner, dismissing the barrier once he was sure the other bird wouldn’t say anything else. “Is that we’re already risking a lot by bringing <b>you</b> with us. If High Command found out, we could at least justify bringing someone of your status and strength on missions. We can’t justify bringing a non-combative gem with us.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Funny, I didn’t think SPINELS were combative gems.” Liquidator’s glare from earlier returned.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Domino returned the look in kind, barely restraining himself from striking the other gem for his words. “<b>Loony</b> can fight and defend herself…unlike that sapphire of yours.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“He’s still developing.” Liquidator growled. “He’s barely been out of the dirt for two centuries, he can get stronger- he can LEARN to fight.” He took a deep breath, trying to regain his earlier façade. “But..that sort of thing can take time. So, how about this limited-time offer: Give me a couple thousand years to train him and see if he can become a fighter. If he can, then he can come along, right?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“So, what, we’re just supposed t’ leave you alone while you TRY t’ teach some puny sapphire to fight?” Steelbeak scoffed.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“I didn’t <b>say</b> you had to leave me alone.” Liquidator eyed the taller gem, anger still clear in his eyes despite his amicable tone. “After all, if we really ARE friends, then you’d still want to see me, even if it wasn’t for missions, <b>right</b>?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“That’s unreasonable, and you know it.” Domino huffed, easily seeing through the blue gem’s baiting. “You know how much time we spend away from homeworld for traveling and assignments.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Then I guess we’ve reached an impasse.” Liquidator easily slipped between the darker gems and headed for the door. “Until I can bring my sapphire with me or he’s strong enough to look after himself, this is <b>goodbye</b>.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Hmph, that sapphire’s made ya soft, drippy.” Steelbeak rolled his eyes at the dog’s retreating figure. “Might be best for everyone if he ‘disappeared’…”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>That last line was nothing more than a mumble. A thought that found its way to the melanite’s mouth before he had time to filter it. At most, it was an annoyed, off-handed comment meant only for his partner’s acknowledgement and nothing more.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>But it was just loud enough that the lapis lazuli heard it.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>He’d had his hand on the panel for the door, his exit already opened, when his ears perked up at the other gem’s words. “……” He was back on the other side of the room before any of them had even had time to blink, his arm extended as he picked the taller bird up off of the floor with ease. “Don’t you dare go <b>ANYWHERE</b> near <b>my</b> sapphire!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“!!” Steelbeak tried to regain his footing, but chains of water rose out of the pool to restrain his hands and prevent any movement from them. He was pinned with no way to fight back- unable to grab his guns or even summon a platform to stand on.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Steelbeak!” Domino summoned one of his pistols from his own gem and pointed it at Liquidator without hesitation. “Drop him now or I’ll-!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“You won’t do anything.” Liquidator’s free arm warped into a deadly-sharp icicle that he pressed right against Steelbeak’s gemstone. “You won’t put your partner’s life on the line like that.” He turned his head, looking the snowflake obsidian over with a smirk that spoke of both the confidence and certainty he had in his words, as well as the dark, murderous intent he held within him in that moment. “After all, you wouldn’t want to lose <b>another one</b>, would you?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“?!!” Domino’s red eyes widened and he froze in place at those words. “How..How did you-?!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“I’ve been in your room before, remember? I’ve seen the pictures.” The liquid-bodied gem’s words were cold, full of bitterness and resentment that had undoubtedly been stewing within him for countless centuries. “All of these years you two spent learning how to manipulate me, did you <b>really</b> think I wouldn’t learn how to do the same to you?” His earlier glare returned as he redirected his attention back up towards Steelbeak, though he was clearly speaking to both of them. “I know how to pick you apart. I know what buttons to push to BREAK YOU.” He scratched the melanite’s stone with the tip of his frozen arm, his glare only growing more intense alongside the growl that steadily laced itself further into his voice. “I’ve spent my whole life doing what I’m told, going along with what everyone else expects from me…I <b>thought</b> you two were different…I <b>thought</b> you would understand me…but you’re just like Blue Diamond and all the other elites: You only want me around as long as I play the role you want to see and jump at your command. Now I’ve finally got a chance to be happy with someone who <b>actually</b> cares about me for who <b>I</b> am instead of what I can <b>do</b> for him, and I’m taking it.” He roughly dropped Steelbeak to the ground, but did not release his hands just yet. “Maybe you’re right..maybe I AM making a mistake by walking away from the best source of ‘stress relief’ I’ve had in ages…but, even if it’s the wrong one, it’s still <b>my </b>choice to make. I’m tired of being angry all the time…I want to try being <b>happy</b> for a change…” He turned his back on the melanite and snowflake obsidian. “Oh, and just in case you had any doubts about me being <b>SERIOUS</b>…”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Without even looking back at the pair, he gave a snap of his fingers and the watery chains wrapped around Steelbeak’s hands suddenly rumbled and burst with slender but sharp icicles that pierced his body in multiple locations.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Friggin’ stars-!” Steelbeak swore with a hiss of pain right before his body disappeared with a poof, leaving behind nothing but his gemstone which was quickly becoming cold and frozen from the icicles still trying to pierce it.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“STEELBEAK!” Domino rushed over to his fallen partner’s stone and picked it up, a thick white barrier appearing around his hand like a glove to protect it from the sharpened ice. He held the black stone close to himself while turning to point his gun at the retreating gem’s back, instinctively trying to protect the melanite from further damage.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Liquidator showed no signs of fear at all in either his voice or his body language as he turned his head just enough to glance back at the loon over his shoulder. “That was a warning. Come anywhere near me or my sapphire and next time I <b>will</b> break him…and I’ll make you watch the whole thing.” And, with that, he finally walked out of the room.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>If looks could kill, then the heated glare Domino gave Liquidator would have shattered him instantly. He held his partner’s gem tighter, his other hand still poised to shoot at the lapis lazuli. His finger rested on the trigger, the barrel of the gun glowing a subtle, light blue color. He had a clear shot…</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>……</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>…but he didn’t take it…</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Darn it…” With a frustrated scowl on his face, he pointed the gun off to the side and fired the loaded bullet at the small pool, instantly freezing the entire body of water with one shot.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>He stood in place for a while, listening to the far off sounds of the exit hatch opening and closing. Once he was completely alone in the ship, the snowflake obsidian walked out into the hall, closing the door behind himself. He sat down on the floor outside of the room, making a small, round barrier-cushion to set Steelbeak’s gem on, but not bothering to make one for himself. The barrel of his gun turned orange and he used a small, controlled burst of fire from it to melt the frost off of the melanite beside him.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Aware of how much his partner hated to be kept waiting, Steelbeak was quick to regain his physical form. Only a few more minutes after thawing out the stone, Domino watched as the ball-cut gem rose up into the air. The stone glowed with a black aura around it that slowly spread out into the rooster’s familiar outline. After settling and making a few minor adjustments, the black light settled and Steelbeak stood beside Domino with sharper features, a longer and more jagged beak, and a darker bowtie then what he’d worn previously.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“That ungrateful CLOD!” Unsurprisingly, Steelbeak’s first act after reforming his body was to lash out in anger and punch the wall beside him. He began to pace up and down the hall in front of Domino, his hands moving as he vented his frustrations. “After everything we’ve done for that stupid drip-brain, he decides to just..just DITCH US for some dirt-covered, off-color sapphire?! Who does he think he is?!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“……” Domino didn’t say a word, he simply got to his feet and walked down the hall so that he was standing in front of the door to the blue gem’s room instead of beside it.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“More than two thousand years we gave that ingrate a way to blow off some steam!” Unaware of his partner’s change in position, Steelbeak continued his pacing, throwing his hands up in the air or clenching them into fists now and then as he vented his frustrations. “We gave him a ROOM! We gave him a spot on the CREW! What more does he WANT?!” Finding himself back in front of the lapis lazuli’s door, he glares at the emblem on it and gives the offending door a kick. “If I see that loser again, I’m gonna-!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Move.” The one word command startled Steelbeak out of his rant, making him turn to see Domino standing behind him with his pistol pointed straight ahead.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Woah!” He got out of the way just in time, narrowly avoiding the powerful burst of flames from the snowflake obsidian’s gun. “Geez, Dom- give a guy a warnin’ next time!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“I did.” Instead of looking at his partner, Domino brought out his other gun and both barrels turned black. He aimed the pistols at the door and opened fire on it with regular, solid bullets that pierced it and left several holes in the rock.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Steelbeak took a moment to merely stand there and watch his partner glare at and vandalize the door with the now-charred but still-visible lapis lazuli emblem. He saw something in those red eyes- something he knew and understood far too well after working with the other gem for more than three thousand years.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>When Domino had to pause for a moment to change the type of ammo in his guns, he felt something tap him on the shoulder. Looking to the source, he saw his partner standing beside him with a knowing grin. The object that had touched him was the butt of the melanite’s tommy-gun, which Steelbeak held out to him in offering. “Think this’ll be a bit more satisfyin’ for ya, short fuse.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Domino was caught momentarily off guard by the offer, but he soon recovered and took the machine gun with a brief but meaningful look into the other gem’s dark eyes. “You may have a point.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>It was bigger than the weaponry he was used to, but it wasn’t the first time he’d been allowed to shoot the larger bird’s gun. He easily compensated for the weight and kickback before opening fire on the door in a much more devastating- and satisfying- way than before.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>He wasn’t alone in his destructive vandalism, either- Steelbeak summoned his own long-barreled pistol and joined him in putting as many holes in the offending rectangle as possible. They spent several hours soothing themselves with the senseless violence and destruction. Sometimes they would shoot together, sometimes they would take turns and make a game out of it. They would change tactics and use every weapon they had at their disposal, even tossing a bomb into the room itself for a controlled explosion. At one point Steelbeak even used his namesake to take bites out of the material, leaving several deep gouges in it.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>By the time they were done, the pair of gems were exhausted but sated.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>As they sat next to each other on the floor facing the ruined door, Steelbeak with one leg raised to prop his arm up on his knee while the other lay straight out in front of him and Domino to his left sitting with both legs out in front of him, the melanite finally spoke for the first time since they’d started.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“We made a rookie mistake.” He didn’t need to look at the other gem to know his partner was listening. “Got too close t’ the help- got too attached.” He closed his eyes for a moment, letting an annoyed sigh cross his beak. “That ain’t gonna happen again.” Opening his eyes once more, his dark gaze landed right on the desecrated emblem- only slivers of its once vibrant blue color visible between the holes and soot. “You, me, and Loony- from now on, those are the only gems on this ship that matter. Anyone else wants a ride, they’re disposable.” His left arm shifted from its previous spot on his lap, moving to lie between the two of them instead with his palm face-up.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Domino still didn’t look at the melanite. He didn’t need to. He could tell what expression the taller gem had on his face, just like he could tell that the other’s hand was now right next to him. “Agreed.” He closed his eyes, his own hand moving down next to the lighter-feathered one on the floor. “The three of us are more than enough.”</em>
</p>
<p>Domino is pulled from his reminiscing when the door to the room opens, Loony stretching over to him before the door is even half-way open. “The computer beeped, Dommy!”</p>
<p>“Thanks, Loony.” He rises to his feet, ignoring the curious look he receives from Gandra. Walking over to a panel on the wall, he dims the lights once again and gets into position in front of their prisoner. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath to calm himself, then opens his eyes again- his gaze as hardened as it was the first time they interrogated the impostor. “Wake him up.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sooo..the relationship between Liquidator and Domino &amp; Steelbeak is a bit…complicated, to say the least. While they did end up seeing each other as friends by the time Liquidator left, it wasn’t exactly a healthy friendship:</p>
<p>Like Domino said, he and Steelbeak were essentially using Liquidator as a way to make their missions easier- he was a tool. They recognized that he was unhappy with his role in the Diamonds’ hierarchy and that he had a lot of deep-seated mental and emotional issues that they could exploit by “letting him” unleash take out his frustrations on whatever planet they were sent to conquer. They also capitalized on the feelings of isolation that came from his superior title by offering him companionship that he was VERY desperate to receive.</p>
<p>Like Liquidator said, though, he wasn’t an idiot- he knew logically that he was being used and he was using them in return as a way to release his pent up frustrations, but, deep down, a part of him really did want to believe that they also enjoyed his company and that they could still be friends. By the time the war ended, though, he’d not only met Bushroot, he’d also started developing a closer friendship with Megavolt and it gave him a clearer picture of what real friendship is like versus what he was getting from Steelbeak and Domino.</p>
<p>Domino and Steelbeak DID end up liking him enough to want to keep him around, and Liquidator didn’t mind coming with them for missions since it was great stress-relief, but a relationship built on a foundation of manipulation and lies is bound to crumble eventually.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>While their hostage is a bit more cooperative now, his mouth still lands him in trouble with Domino and Loony. At least the two of them can have a good laugh about it and fondly remember how they nearly gave the real Steelbeak the same treatment!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Time for some backstory that DOESN’T involve Liquidator xD</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Their prisoner had apparently learned his lesson about mouthing off to the F.O.W.L. agents. He was more direct with his instructions and gave them less attitude in hopes they wouldn’t shock him again.</p>
<p>They still shocked him again. <b>Repeatedly</b>.</p>
<p>Domino, Loony, and Gandra got into a fairly easy routine when it came to dealing with the captive melanite: Loony would tie him up with one of her arms (or her leg at one point because she was bored and wanted to mix things up). Gandra would give him a mild jolt with her hand to re-stabilize his body and allow him to wake up. Domino would ask for their next heading. Then, at the end, Gandra would shock him again to destabilize him once more. They continued taking turns guarding him, just like before, keeping two people in the room at all times while the third gem went to the control room to make sure they were still on course.</p>
<p>By the time they’ve almost reached their destination, it’s Loony and Domino’s turn to guard him while Gandra steers the ship. The melanite told them that the next set of instructions were shorter, so they’d need him awake. To make things easier on all of them, Domino keeps a communication line open with Gandra to relay the directions while Loony keeps their prisoner firmly tied up.</p>
<p>“Just passed the three islands.” Gandra says through the speakers in Domino’s watch. “What’s next?”</p>
<p>Domino looks to their captive expectantly. “Give us the next direction…and it had better be the last one.”</p>
<p>“Relax, bright eyes.” The melanite rolls his eyes a little, but keeps his tone from getting too snarky. “Hang a left and head west- you’ll know when you’re in the right place.”</p>
<p>“For your sake, you had better hope we find it sooner rather than later.” Domino gives their prisoner a warning glare before relaying the information to Gandra. “Turn left and head west. Keep an eye out for anything that looks remotely suspicious in the water.” After hearing the star-sapphire’s confirmation, he returns his attention to the rooster. “Did your ‘acquaintance’ leave you with any instructions for the exchange?”</p>
<p>“Just two.” The melanite meets the loon’s red-eyed gaze unflinchingly, despite knowing that the threat of shattering him at any moment was still a very real possibility. “First: You gotta bring me out in one piece.”</p>
<p>“Only one piece? That’s doable.” Domino smirks when he sees the brief look of nervousness cross the melanite’s dark eyes before being covered up.</p>
<p>“Second: He mostly just wants t’ talk to YOU.” The melanite manages to keep his voice calm and level, even with the snowflake obsidian’s expression promising pain in his very near future. “Ya gotta leave the star-sapphire on the ship, but he said you can take your spine-” He doesn’t get the chance to finish his sentence, as he’s suddenly struck across the face in one direction by a white-barrier-gloved fist, and then immediately struck back the other way by a gray-gloved fist from his other side. “?!”</p>
<p>He’s about to ask what he did to deserve such harsh treatment, when the gray-gloved hand stretches around and grabs him by the back of his head. He’s forced to face Loony’s decidedly <b>UN</b>happy face directly in front of his own. “I’m not ANYONE’S spinel, thank-you-very-much!” The arm binding the melanite begins to constrict and coil around his body even tighter, squeezing it like a boa constrictor. “I’m my own gem. Nobody gets to own <b>me</b>.” She continues squeezing the wide-eyed melanite’s body until it disappears with a poof, leaving his gemstone behind on the seat. Looking at the stone, her earlier anger fades away and she gives Domino an apologetic frown. “Whoopsie-doodles. Sorry, Dommy- I got a little carried away…”</p>
<p>“It’s fine, Loony.” He holds his hand out above the black stone and a white translucent bubble appears around it, allowing him to pick up the gem while keeping it contained. “I was about to shoot him, anyway.”</p>
<p>“Oh, goodie!” The other loon’s words are enough to restore the spinel’s cheer, making her giggle. “Hey, remember the first time Steely called me that and you nearly shot HIM for it?”</p>
<p>“Vividly.” He answers with a quiet chuckle. After all, how could he forget the first time he met the loud-mouthed melanite and everything they went through over the course of their first few missions?</p>
<p>
  <em>It had taken Domino and Loony a week to reach the rendezvous point. They’d had to “borrow” a ship, fly through three asteroid belts and the debris of a broken planet, and been forced to walk for two days after crashing their ship too far from the appointed coordinates. All of this just to make sure they arrived promptly to meet Domino’s new partner.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The least the clod could do was <b>show up on time</b>.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>With a glare that was becoming more irritated by the second, Domino pulled back his sleeve and checked his watch for what must have been the twentieth time since they’d arrived.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>EIGHT HOURS. Domino and Loony had been waiting EIGHT HOURS for his new partner to show up.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>To be fair, to most gems eight hours was a pretty insignificant amount of time. However, with the day (day/week/month/year/CENTURY) that Domino had been having, he was hardly in the mood to be kept waiting. What made matters worse was the fact that he had nothing to distract himself from the passage of time, so all he had to do was check his watch and look up at the sky. Loony had at least found her own entertainment in chasing around the small, colorful organic creatures that popped up from holes in the ground nearby, but that was hardly the sort of thing Domino could find enjoyment in. Seriously, he didn’t even have any data pads to read or a communicator to call F.O.W.L. for a status update on his new partner’s whereabouts, or ask what kind of gem it was, or-</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>He noticed something shiny break through the clouds, descending rapidly towards their location like a shooting star. He nearly mistook the object for one, too, until it slowed down enough to let him see the pronounced but rounded point on the front and the sharp, angular protrusions on the back were all actually just part of a gleaming golden ship that managed to shine and sparkle even in the low light of the planet with nothing but the stars and two moons available for illumination.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The flashy (and honestly a bit gaudy) ship landed less than ten feet away from them, causing a strong rush of air that nearly blew Domino’s hat off of his head. Keeping one hand on his hat to save himself the hassle of retrieving it later and the other in front of his eyes to shield them from the wind, Domino squinted at the mass of gold as it landed on the ground.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The air settled after a few seconds and a hatch on the side opened up a minute later. A tall silhouette stood in the lit opening, the lights making it hard to get a good look at what kind of gem it was. “Hey, you’re with F.O.W.L., right?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Depends on who’s asking.” The loon squinted up at the figure, trying to discern any details about the new comer.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Oh, a wise guy, huh?” The person on the ship asked sarcastically. “Come on, snowflake, we got work t’ do.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Domino scowled at the nickname. He’d been called so many names because of his gemstone- people loved to joke about how fragile obsidians were- and, while he’d gotten used to it and proved the hecklers wrong many times (usually by shooting one of them in the face) he still didn’t enjoy the teasing. Whoever this gem was, he was making a horrible first impression-</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“What-?!” Domino was startled by a black, diamond shaped platform suddenly appearing under his feet and lifting him up towards the ship’s entrance. He barely managed to keep his balance, his look of surprise turning into an offended glare when he was brought up eye-level with the ship’s owner. “……”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Finally getting a good look at the other gem, Domino took in his new partner’s appearance properly: A black ball-cut melanite that looked like a rooster in a tailored suit with a large red comb, green tail feathers, and a metallic beak.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Oh, great- a <b>GARNET</b>. Every garnet that he’d been forced to interact with in the past had been stuck-up, spoiled, upper-crust elites that looked down on “lower-class” gems as if they were all mere pebbles by comparison. They pretty much always had a superiority complex and treated gems like Domino and Loony as if they were either cannon fodder or servants. Domino was already mentally cringing at the thought of having to work with the other gem.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Quit with the starin’, red eyes.” The melanite told him with a roll of his own dark eyes as the platform roughly deposited Domino in the ship. “I already told ya, we got work t’ do and we’re runnin’ behind, so move it.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“My <b>name</b> is <b>Domino</b>.” He continued to glare at the obnoxious garnet. “And maybe if YOU weren’t <b>EIGHT HOURS LATE</b>, we wouldn’t have to rush.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The rooster wasn’t even remotely bothered by the loon’s hateful look. He merely rolled his eyes. “Oh, I’m SO sorry, I must’ve lost a few hours goin’ across the galaxy line.” That was possibly the most sarcastic, least apologetic apology that Domino had heard in his entire life. “Now, if you’re done snappin’, short fuse, we gotta go.” He pushed a button by the hatch and the door started to close.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Wait.” Domino raised his hand, making a white barrier shaped like a rectangle appear and block the door’s movement. Before the melanite could ask him what he was doing, he cupped a hand by his beak to help with the volume of his voice. “Loony! Time to go!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Comin’, Dommy!” The spinel called back before her hands suddenly stretched up to the doorway and she pulled herself inside, Domino allowing the door to close once she was fully in the ship. She saw the melanite and gave him a bright, excited smile as she took one of his hands into both of her own, shaking it vigorously. “Hiya! My name’s Loony Toony, but my friends call me Loony! What’s your name?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“..Steelbeak…” The taller gem answered after a moment of confusion, staring at the stretchy, smiling gem. “Didn’t know there’d be two of ya…”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“We’re a packaged deal.” Domino explained to the confused rooster. “Where I go, Loony goes.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Oh..” Steelbeak finally managed to free his hand from the prolonged and overly enthusiastic handshake, taking a moment to flex his fingers. “High command didn’t say nothin’ ‘bout it, but I can deal with it. So, she your servant or-?” He ducked, barely avoiding a gunshot aimed right at his face. “Hey, what’s the big idea?!” He glared at the snowflake obsidian and the pistol in his hand. A gray-gloved hand punched him in the back of his head before he got an answer. “Yeow!” He rubbed at the sore spot, shifting his glare over to the spinel this time.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“That’s rude!” Loony told him, putting her hands on her hips while she was stretched up to be slightly taller than him. “I’m Dommy’s FRIEND, not his servant!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Steelbeak was about to say something else, but a white barrier forming a small bubble around his beak stopped him. “Let’s set a few things straight, right here, right now.” Domino grabbed the melanite by his bowtie using a white barrier-gloved hand and roughly yanked him down so that he could look him in the eyes properly and more easily press his gun to the side of the rooster’s head. “Loony is her own gem. She doesn’t take orders from me, and she certainly won’t be taking any orders from <b>you</b>. And that goes for me, as well: I am here on High Command’s orders as your PARTNER. I’m not some disposable amethyst for you to throw to the front lines and sacrifice. I’m not a pearl you get to boss around. If you even <b>try</b> talking down to me or Loony, you will disappear before you have time to <b>blink</b>. Are we clear?” The barrier dissolved with a snap of his fingers, his gun disappearing momentarily to allow the action.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Wow, touch-y.” Steelbeak’s sarcastic tone was back the moment his beak was free. “Can’t a gem ask a question without gettin’ his head blown off?” He stood back to his full height, fixing his bowtie once the shorter gem let it go. “If you’re done bein’ all sensitive and offended over everythin’, we gotta go.” He began to walk off, presumably towards the cockpit, not sparing them a glance as he spoke. “And for the record, snowflake, I don’t really care what the deal with you and stretch is- I was just askin’ ‘cause I felt like it.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Domino understood in that moment that working with Steelbeak was going to be one of the most mentally frustrating and exhausting things he would ever do in his life- a fact that the rude melanite would go on to prove time and time again as they spent the next few decades together on a series of missions assigned to them by High Command.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>To the rooster’s credit, though, he was very strong and extremely competent in the field. The two of them made a surprisingly good team in battle with Steelbeak using his ability to quickly lift and maneuver them to better vantage points while Domino’s barriers protected them from enemy fire, leaving them both free to gun down the enemy from a secured and steady location. He was still generally rude and unpleasant to be around, but Domino managed to ignore that part about him as long as he could avoid being around him anymore than what was necessary for work.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Unfortunately, the fact that they often took Steelbeak’s ship on missions meant that certain interactions were unavoidable. One particular case-in-point happened a little less than a year into their partnership when the “Lucky Star” (which he still felt was a pretentious name for a spaceship) suffered some damage after a narrow escape on their last mission. While they’d managed to shake off their pursuers fairly easily thanks to the melanite’s piloting skills (yet another thing he had to give the taller man credit for- his flying maneuvers and intuition behind the controls were both top-notch), the damage to the power crystals meant that they had to stop off on a moon a few billion lightyears from homeworld for much needed repairs.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>This led to Steelbeak lying on his back with the upper half of his body under the ship’s power converters. “Uggh, would ya look at this mess?” He complained, though it was mostly to himself. “The stabilizer’s trashed…gonna need a new one..” He ripped something out of the machinery and slid out from underneath the large converter. Looking around to the only other two gems on the ship, his eyes landed on Loony. “Hey, doll,” He tossed the metallic object he’d pulled out of the machinery towards the spinel. “Grab me another one o’ those from the supply closet- top shelf, on the right.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Loony caught the object with ease, but she gave Steelbeak a confused look over the nickname. “My name’s not ‘doll’- it’s Loony, remember?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“And we’ve been over this before-” Domino said while looking down on the melanite with a warning glare. “-she is <b>not</b> a <b>servant</b>. You’re not allowed to give her orders.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Steelbeak rolled his eyes, the snowflake obsidian’s glares working about as well as they usually did on him (which was not at all). “Not this again…” He didn’t bother getting up from his spot on the floor, but he did counter the glare with one of his own. “Look, short fuse, I know ya got hang ups over your whole ‘we don’t take orders from you’ shtick, but you’re forgettin’ one thing: This is MY ship-” He gestured around them with one hand to the ship as a whole. “-and I ain’t a friggin’ chauffeur! You two wanna keep gettin’ free rides outta me, then ya gotta pull your weight around here.” He held up one finger when he saw the darker bird’s beak begin to open, already predicting what his protest would be. “And before ya say anythin’, it ain’t got nothin’ t’ do with ‘rank’ or ‘class’, or whatever ‘cause I DON’T CARE ‘BOUT THAT JUNK. I’d be tellin’ ya the same thing if you were sapphires or garnets- shoot, I’d even tell White Diamond t’ get off her lazy butt and do some work for a change if she was here!” He got back down under the power converter, waving his right hand in the general direction of the tool box located right next to Domino. “Now, ya can either spend a few years tryin’ t’ hitch a ride back t’ homeworld on a comet, or take five seconds t’ hand me a 155 micro-inch laser cutter so we can get there in a few days- your call, red eyes.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Domino seriously contemplated shooting him in that moment (not that it was the first time he’d considered doing so), but he had to, reluctantly, admit that the loud-mouthed melanite had a decent point.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Fine.” The requested tool (though he wasn’t entirely sure if it was the right one or not) was tossed so that it landed on Steelbeak’s stomach rather than placed neatly in his outstretched hand. “Though it wouldn’t kill you to say ‘please’ once in a while.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Even with his face hidden under the machinery, Domino could practically HEAR the smirk in the other gem’s voice as he grabbed the laser cutter. “I dunno, snowflake- it might.” The nickname earned him another glare that likely would have had the same effect even if it was actually seen by the other gem.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“It’s <b>Domino</b>.” He stated for what had to have been at least the hundredth time, as he always did when that nickname came up.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Once they actually got back to homeworld and started interacting with other gems again, Domino learned that Steelbeak’s words held quite a bit of truth to them. He really didn’t <b>care</b> about a gem’s rank or purpose. From the lower class warrior rubies and quartz soldiers, to the servant-grade pearls and peridots, all the way up the chain to the commanding elite emeralds and his fellow garnets, he ultimately treated all of them the exact same way. Granted, the way he treated everyone was <b>RUDE</b> (High Command being the only obvious exception to his attitude), but it was at least a little reassuring for Domino to know that the melanite really didn’t view him or Loony any lower than he did any other gems in the universe.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>While that fact helped ease his tension a little bit, there was still one thing that continued to rub him the wrong way- something that became increasingly harder to ignore until it finally reached a boiling point.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>They had been sent out on another mission to a far off planet. It was a standard “wipe out the inhabitants and claim the planet as a base for F.O.W.L.” assignment. Everything had been going well until one of the creatures had revealed his race’s ultimate, last-resort weapon- a series of explosives buried deep within the planet. The bombs had gone off before they had time to get away. The pair ended up falling into a crevice that quickly filled over with rocks and debris, unintentionally leaving Loony up top before she could stretch down to reach them.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Reflexes guiding both of them, Steelbeak summoned one of his black diamond shaped panels below them to slow their descent into the bowels of the planet while Domino formed a white dome-shaped barrier above them to keep the quickly growing pile of rubble from crushing them. Their combined efforts worked in keeping them in place and alive, but it also left them <b>stuck</b> in place, forcing them to either wait and see if an opening presented itself or if someone was able to dig them out since the rubble above was too heavy to be pushed back up out of the hole and there were no tunnels visible nearby to offer them a way out.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Well, ain’t that just SWELL.” Steelbeak said sarcastically while waving his hands in indication of their surroundings.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“You just HAD to take your time tormenting those last few survivors, didn’t you?” Domino’s voice was equally sarcastic, though his tone was laced with more annoyance than his partner’s.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Oh, gimme a break…” Steelbeak rolled his eyes, leaning back against the white barrier behind him with his arms crossed. “How was <b>I</b> supposed t’ know they rigged this rock with a buncha crazy suicide bombs? I mean, who DOES that, am I right, snowflake?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>That was it. That was the last straw.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The rooster let out a startled yelp when he was suddenly grabbed by his collar and yanked down harshly to be eye-level with a pair of VERY angry red eyes. “My..name..is..<b>DOMINO</b>!” He snapped at the taller gem, years of pent up frustration finally surfacing. “Not red eyes, or short fuse, or stripes, or wise guy- and definitely not <b>snowflake</b>!” He tossed the larger gem to the ground (well, to the black panel below them) with ease, allowing him to look down on the melanite properly. “It’s been 100 years now and I’ve told you thousands of times! ‘Dom-i-no’, it’s not that hard to remember! Honestly, at this point it’s almost like you’re doing it on-!” He stopped, blinking twice as the anger in his eyes suddenly changed to realization. Oh stars. It all made <b>sense</b> now. “You <b>are</b> doing it on purpose..” He said slowly, crouching down so he was next to the other gem as he began to sit up. “You’re actually trying <b>not</b> to remember my name.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“……” Steelbeak didn’t say anything to the accusation at first, but the way he avoided eye contact with the shorter gem was answer enough. “Not much point rememberin’ your name if you ain’t gonna stay.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Now there was a statement that certainly got Domino’s attention. “Why wouldn’t I stay?” He shifted from his crouching position so that he was now sitting in front of the melanite. It wasn’t like they had anything else to do while they were waiting for a way out- he might as well get comfortable.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“I don’t do well with ‘partners’. I’m more of a solo-act, ya know?” Steelbeak shrugged with a heavy sigh, sounding like he’d had this conversation before a hundred times (maybe he had). “But every few hundred years, High Command insists on stickin’ me with some new gem, sayin’ ‘try and make this one work’, but it never does. They either do somethin’ stupid and go gettin’ themselves broke, get on my nerves enough that I throw ‘em out the airlock, or <b>I</b> get on <b>their</b> nerves enough that they transfer somewhere else first chance they get.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Domino cocked a brow, his curiosity piqued. “How many partners have you had?” The thought of going through enough partners that you’d become used to essentially working solo was foreign to Domino. As an obsidian, he was originally intended to be part of the general labor force and work in large groups of his own kind. Then, as a F.O.W.L. agent, he’d only ever had one partner before, and they’d been together for nearly ten thousand years- not to mention the seven thousand years he’d had Loony around.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“I dunno…five…six hundred, somethin’ like that..” He answered so casually despite the loon staring at him in pure shock. Five or six <b>hundred</b>? How was that even possible?! “They all go away eventually, so learnin’ their names just wastes time. It’s like….” Steelbeak drummed his fingers on the panel below him, trying to find the right words. “Ya ever had a pet?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Domino almost said no, as he himself had never actually “owned” one. But, after giving the question some thought, he supposed that assisting in the day-to-day caretaking of the various small creatures that both Loony and his previous partner brought home with them over the years somewhat counted. “Kind of.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>That seemed to be enough for Steelbeak to continue with his analogy. “Well, if ya got an animal livin’ with ya, at first it’s just some stupid little thing runnin’ around your place needin’ ya t’ do stuff t’ keep it alive. Then, suddenly, ya go an’ give it a name and everything changes- it ain’t just some random animal no more, it actually <b>means</b> somethin’ to ya. Ya get <b>attached</b> to it.” He began to look frustrated the more he spoke, moving his hands in a way that Domino had begun to realize was somewhat of a nervous tic for the larger bird. “Then BOOM! Next thing ya know it runs away or gets itself killed or tells ya you’re nothin’ but a worthless bucket of slurry and no one’s ever gonna like you anyway, so why bother-?!” He caught himself, realizing that he’d gotten out of the simile somewhere, so he lowered his hands back down to his lap and tried to cover his slip with one of his usual sneers. “So…yeah..it’s easier if ya just don’t bother namin’ ‘em…that way you don’t go gettin’ attached…it just make sense…”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Domino…really didn’t know what to say to that for a while. While he didn’t like that he was essentially the pet in that comparison, he could understand where the other gem’s attitude stemmed from a little better now. The idea of going through that many partners in a relatively short amount of time was still hard to imagine (seriously, in the time that he’d been with just one partner, Steelbeak must have gone through at least two or three hundred), but he could see the impact it left now: He could see the guarded posture, the distant look in his eyes as he even now tried to avoid the loon’s gaze, and the walls he was trying to cover up with snide comments and sarcastic quips. He could see it all now.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Well, I’m not one to crack under pressure.” His simple statement was enough to make Steelbeak glance back over to him, if only just a little. “I can handle myself in a fight just fine, so unless it’s an enemy that can destroy an entire planet, then I won’t be taken down that easily.” The corner of his beak lifted slightly when the taller gem turned his head to look at Domino properly. “I also doubt you’d be able to throw me out of the airlock- I’d just put a barrier over it.” He saw the corner of the other bird’s beak shift a little as well, looking close to a smile before he could stop himself. “And I’m certainly not the type to run from a challenge.” He smirked, trying to come off as challenging but the usual aggravation he would have in his eyes was replaced with something closer to understanding.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Steelbeak seemed to be at a loss for words for the first time since- well, since Domino had known the normally talkative gem. After a few seconds, though, a few simple words left his beak. “A hundred and ninety-nine years.” At a curious tilt of the loon’s head, a silent prompting for more, Steelbeak elaborated on his statement. “That’s the longest I’ve ever had a partner stick with me. You beat that record, and I’ll think about rememberin’ your name. Deal?” He extended his hand towards the other gem, giving one of his usual cocky smirks but with something a bit more sincere showing in his eyes and the way he carried himself.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>A small white barrier appeared around Domino’s hand like a glove before he shook the offered hand. “Deal.” He narrowed his eyes warningly, not letting go of the other bird’s hand quite yet. “But you have to stop calling me snowflake. I’ll tolerate the other nicknames until you remember to call me Domino, but if you continue using that one I cannot guarantee your safety.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Steelbeak blinked in surprise as the other bird finally let go of his hand. “What’s wrong with snowflake?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Oh, don’t play dumb.” Domino waved him off, the white barrier dissolving to expose his hand again. “I know you’re only doing it to make fun of me and I won’t tolerate it.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Huh?” Steelbeak only looked further surprised, and now confused, by the obsidian’s words. “I call ya snowflake ‘cause you’re a snowflake obsidian-”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Yes, yes, and I’m ‘fragile’, I get it! I’ve heard all the jokes a thousand times already: ‘Obsidians are so delicate!’ ‘Obsidians are just dark glass!’ ‘Obsidians are so disposable- they’re practically <b>made</b> to be broken!’ ” Domino scowled, holding his head as he closed his eyes for a moment. He seriously hated all of those stupid, juvenile jokes. If he heard one more, he would-</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“People actually say that?” The genuine confusion in the melanite’s voice startled Domino right out of his thoughts.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Huh?” He lowered his hand so he could look at the other gem’s face properly. He was surprised to see that the confusion written across Steelbeak’s face matched his tone perfectly. “The elites say it all the time.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Steelbeak’s confused expression turned to a scowl that could have rivaled Domino’s a moment ago. “Ugh, do NOT get me started on those good for nothin’ snobs! I can’t stand those jerks!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Those words surprise Domino yet again. “But..you’re technically an elite, aren’t you? You’re a rare, high-ranking garnet in White Diamond’s court.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Steelbeak rolled his eyes, making a gagging sound as if the very idea disgusted him. “Not by <b>choice</b>- I try t’ limit my time around those over-polished rocks t’ almost nothin’. Those buckets of slurry got everythin’ handed to ‘em the second they popped outta the ground- they didn’t earn any of it and wouldn’t know a decent gem from a mud ball! They take one look at your gem and think they know EVERYTHIN’ about ya.” He jerked his thumb upwards in the direction of the planet’s surface high above them. “That spinel ya got with ya-”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Loony.” Domino corrected automatically, though it didn’t stop the other bird’s speech.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“-she’s supposed t’ be a ‘playmate’, far as those elitist jerks are concerned, but she’s got a punch that’d put any amethyst or topaz down with one shot! And <b>you</b>-” He gestured now to Domino- specifically to his gemstone. “You’re an <b>obsidian</b>! You came out of a friggin’ <b>volcano</b>! Just to be alive, ya had to climb out of something that would’ve melted down most of those ‘elite’ gems and be smart enough to get out of there without fallin’ in another lava pit. Obsidians ain’t fragile, they’re sharp- both ways.” He pointed to one of the white spots in Domino’s gem. “Plus you’re a <b>snowflake obsidian</b>, on top of that! Those white spots ain’t just for lookin’ good, they’re made of <b>quartz</b>- so that means you got the sharpness of a regular obsidian PLUS the strength of a quartz soldier.” He lowered his hand, feeling that he’d more than made his point. “If anyone calls YOU fragile, then they deserve whatever ya shoot ‘em in the face with.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>To say that Domino was taken aback by the other man’s words would have been a gross understatement. Never, in his entire life, had he heard <b>anyone</b> describe his gem type in such a positive manner- least of all someone who, by all rights, would be considered an <b>elite</b> according to the diamond’s hierarchy.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>What made the other’s words all the more meaningful was how ACCURATE they were. He could still remember the day he was forged: How he’d come out of the volcano and just barely avoided stumbling out into the lava below. How he’d had to climb out of the steep terrain while a couple of the weaker or more careless gems fell to their doom. How those gems screamed in agony and how some tried to grab onto him for support, or climb over him to save themselves, or even attempted to forcefully drag him down with them. How he’d fought for his right to live and climbed all the way to the top so he could see the sky for the first time. And how he’d navigated his way through the streams of lava down the side of the mountain to find the gem base set up miles away, only to instantly be put to work with no regard for what he’d endured to get there.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>He hadn’t thought about it before because it was how all obsidians came to life, but Steelbeak was right in his assessment. Domino survived because he was <b>strong</b> <b>enough</b> to live. He continued to survive because he was <b>intelligent</b> <b>enough</b> to keep himself alive. Thinking about it that way, being a snowflake obsidian sounded like something to be proud of-</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Wait..” Once again realization dawned on him. “When you call me snowflake..is that your attempt at a <b>compliment</b>?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Steelbeak looked away from the shorter gem’s inquisitive gaze once again, absentmindedly scratching at the feathers on his cheek with one finger. “I mean..if ya wanna take it that way, sure…whatever keeps ya from shootin’ me…”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Huh…</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>This man continued to surprise Domino in new and intriguing ways. Perhaps being partners with him wouldn’t be as bad as he thought.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>They’d eventually been dug out by Loony, who’d had the idea to use even more explosives to blast away the rubble long enough that Steelbeak could raise their platform out of the hole while Domino’s barrier took on a more pointed shape to help push the debris away when it came back down. Their job was essentially completed after that and they returned to Steelbeak’s ship as usual, neither of them bringing up what they’d discussed beneath the planet’s surface but both certainly feeling a shift in their dynamic.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Things had begun to change between them gradually after that day. While Steelbeak was still rude and sarcastic, his attitude was more joking than insulting as it had been before. Also, now that he knew why the other gem resorted to nicknames, Domino felt less offended over hearing them constantly, which ultimately led to fewer fights between them. Around 150 years into their partnership, he noticed the nicknames “Dee” and “Dom” making their way into the lineup (Loony also got “Loons” added alongside the usual “stretch”, “doll”, and “super stripes”), a sign that Steelbeak was starting to remember his name even if he wasn’t saying it out loud yet.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Then one day, after they’d returned to homeworld following a decade-long mission on the other side of the galaxy, the two had stayed with the ship while Loony went off to go see a friend and the dynamic between them shifted yet again.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Steelbeak had been doing some minor repairs to the Lucky Star, mostly just buffing out some dents and welding together some minor tears in the hull. While he was welding a particularly deep gash on one of the wings, he blindly waved in the direction he’d left the toolbox a few feet away. “Hand me that laser cutter, would ya?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Domino kneeled down to better reach the item in question. “The 155 or the 240?” He’d gotten more familiar with the various tools and methods of repairing the ship over the years- he’d even gotten better at flying on the odd occasion Steelbeak felt like letting someone else touch his precious vessel’s controls. It had been an interesting learning experience for the loon, seeing as his previous position was more focused on maintaining one of F.O.W.L.’s northern planetary bases and coordinating missions from there rather than flying all over the galaxy for different assignments like his current job.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“The 155 oughta do it.” Steelbeak said, holding his hand out expectantly. Once the correct tool was placed in his hand, he turned it on and got to work. “Thanks, Domino.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>A standard, generic reply had almost left the snowflake obsidians beak…until his mind registered the second word that had been said.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Domino.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Steelbeak had just called him <b>Domino</b>.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Not snowflake, or stripes, or red eyes, or wise guy, or short fuse.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Not even Dom or Dee.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>He’d called him <b>Domino</b>.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>With anyone else, he would’ve assumed it was a slip of the tongue. Steelbeak, however, was not one for letting his words come out so carelessly, despite what some gems might think. He’d said the loon’s name on <b>purpose</b>.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Pulling back his sleeve to check his watch, he took note of the date and couldn’t stop the smile that effortlessly formed on his beak if he’d tried: It was 200 years to the DAY.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Craning his head to get a better view of the taller gem’s face from his spot beside the wing, Domino saw the smile on Steelbeak’s face. How long had he been waiting for a chance to say the other’s name? Knowing him, he’d probably been looking for the right moment all day.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Leaning against the ship’s wing, Domino gave the only reply that seemed fitting in that moment. “Anytime.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Steelbeak glanced away from his work, their eyes meeting, each with a knowing smile on their beaks. They both understood the meaning behind that single, simple word:</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Anytime Steelbeak needed something, Domino would be there, and Steelbeak would do the same in return. They were partners now, and neither of them were planning on going anywhere anytime soon.</em>
</p>
<p>“Hey, Domino, think I found what we’re looking for.” Gandra’s voice says through the speakers on Domino’s watch, bringing him back to the present.</p>
<p>“Right, we’ll be there in a moment.” He replies before nodding towards the door while looking at Loony. “Shall we?”</p>
<p>“Yep! Let’s go save Steely!” Loony says with a smile, already jumping over to the door.</p>
<p>Domino follows behind her, glancing down at the bubbled gem in his hand. They were going to get Steelbeak back. They would <b>not</b> fail. They couldn’t.</p>
<p>After all, he’d promised to be there anytime his partner needed him..and he would not break that promise, now or ever.</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This was another chapter that I had a lot of fun writing :) Getting to show the progression of characters’ relationships is something I always enjoy!</p>
<p>My favorite moment was definitely the one where they were essentially caved in together and Domino got the chance to see that, despite his cockiness and own personal insecurities, there was something worthwhile inside of Steelbeak that just needed some patience and understanding to be brought out.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The F.O.W.L. team arrives at their destination and prepare to go rescue their missing member, but a foreboding prediction from Gandra leaves one of them with more worries than when they arrived..</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A short but not-so-sweet chapter to mark the calm before the storm.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Domino and Loony enter the ship’s cockpit, taking a look through the windshield. With a single glance it’s easy to tell exactly what their prisoner meant when he said they would “know when they were in the right place”.</p>
<p>They were still out in the middle of the ocean, stopped above an island just big enough for them to land the ship on. Directly next to the island was an enormous and elaborate palace with multiple spires and a huge set of doors facing the island- the entire building made completely out of SEAWATER.</p>
<p>“Talk about flexing..” Gandra mutters under her breath before turning the black captain’s chair to look at Domino. “So, what’s the plan?”</p>
<p>Domino takes a moment to assess the situation, looking down at the small island and the palace. “We’re at a disadvantage if we fight him directly with that much water at his disposal.” He looks down at the bubbled gem in his hand then back up to the liquid palace in front of them. “We’ll have to play along for now. Loony and I will go down for the hostage exchange and look for a chance to grab Steelbeak as soon as we can.” He looks back down to Gandra. “I’ll keep the comm. lines open- if things take a turn for the worse, open fire on the entire building with the destabilization canons and come collect our gems afterwards.”</p>
<p>“Alright, I’ll-” Gandra stops mid-sentence, her eyes turning completely white.</p>
<p>“Oooh, she’s doing the future-thingy!” Loony grins excitedly, leaning and stretching around Domino so she can see Gandra’s face properly.</p>
<p>After a minute, the star-sapphire blinks a few times, her eyes returning to normal as she rubs her head with one hand. “…Sorry.”</p>
<p>“What did you see?” Domino knows that Gandra’s visions can be sporadic, but usually come at the perfect time to be useful in their missions.</p>
<p>“……” Gandra hesitates before turning the captain’s chair around so she’s facing the rest of the room properly. “I’ll show you..but it doesn’t look good.” She extends her hands out in front of herself, the star-mark on her gem glowing white as a pair of black and white headphones appear on her head and a white disk appears below her fingers.</p>
<p>The moment she touches the disk, white lines begin branching out and crisscrossing to form a grid-pattern along the walls, floor, and ceiling. Once the grid has finished forming, Gandra moves her fingers slowly around the disk, making white holograms appear in the middle of the room that begin to enact scenes that skip around- like watching a corrupted video recording that’s missing parts.</p>
<p>The first scene shows Domino and Loony sitting at a table. Loony is looking at something behind Domino with a surprised expression while Domino himself glares at the same spot before turning that same glare to someone on the other side of the table just outside the view of the hologram. Domino’s hands are also notably empty- no longer holding the bubbled melanite like he is currently.</p>
<p>The second scene shows them standing near the same table. This time, however, Steelbeak is with them, but he’s on his knees on the floor with one hand clutched over his gemstone and Loony is crouched down beside him with a worried expression while Domino stares at his partner with a look caught somewhere between shocked and concerned. Domino’s shock quickly turns to anger and he draws both of his guns, pointing them across the table at someone.</p>
<p>The third scene shows Domino seated at the table again, looking at something out of view of the holograms with wide eyes of disbelief as a tear slowly slides down his cheek. Loony is standing beside him, looking at the same thing with a confused frown on her face while Steelbeak, seated on Domino’s other side, looks at both of them with concern clear in his eyes.</p>
<p>The final scene shows Domino and Steelbeak, with Steelbeak sitting in a chair different from the ones at the table before and Domino standing directly in front of him. Domino is clutching something close to his chest with his right hand while his left hand holds one of his pistols- the gun pointed right at Steelbeak. From the angle they’re watching, Steelbeak’s back is to them, but they can all see the look of fury on Domino’s face clear as day. He shouts something they can’t hear at Steelbeak and his gun goes off- the bullet apparently piercing Steelbeak’s gem as in the next second his body disappears and his broken stone falls to the ground. It ends right as Domino sees the shattered gem hit the ground and a look of horror comes over his face, his pistol falling to join the broken shards on the floor.</p>
<p>Gandra stops turning the disk with her fingers. “That’s all I’ve got- the visions stop there.”</p>
<p>Loony frowns while looking at the holograms before turning her head to Gandra. “I don’t like that future- pick a new one!”</p>
<p>Gandra sighs and shakes her head. “We’ve been over this, Loony: I don’t control the future, I just see the most likely outcome.”</p>
<p>Loony folds her arms over her chest and stomps her foot on the floor. “Well, the future you saw is wrong! Dommy would never, ever, EVER shoot Steely!”</p>
<p>“Look, I don’t like it either, but that’s what I saw.” Gandra looks at the holograms. “I don’t know why, but that’s the future we have a 99.9998% chance of arriving at.”</p>
<p>“……” Domino, who’s been looking at the hologram version of himself this whole time, finally speaks up. “Rewind.” Gandra nods and complies with the command, turning the disk backwards with her fingers to make the scene play in reverse right back to the beginning. “Stop.” He tells her when she reaches the point he’s looking for.</p>
<p>The recording stops just a second after the scene’s start and Domino walks around the hologram versions of himself and Steelbeak to get a better view. He can’t see what’s clutched in his hand, no matter what angle he looks from, but he at least gets a better look at Steelbeak’s face when he gets behind himself.</p>
<p>The sight brings a small frown to the loon’s beak: Steelbeak doesn’t look scared over having a gun pointed at him. He doesn’t look anywhere near as angry as Domino himself does in the scene. He just looks..<b>SAD</b>…sad and more than a little sympathetic. An usual combination for the rooster, but one that Domino’s been allowed to see a few times over the years.</p>
<p>Domino raises his hand and does a slow circle with his fingers, signaling Gandra to play it again. She does as she’s asked, moving her fingers slowly over the disk so that the recording plays at a slower speed.</p>
<p>As Domino watches the recording again, this time seeing practically the same thing as his hologram self, he’s able to watch Steelbeak’s face. Reading the other bird’s beak, he makes out the words “Domino, I didn’t know” and, right after he’s shot, he gets out the beginning of Domino’s name just before his body vanishes.</p>
<p>The frown on his face doesn’t lessen at all after re-watching the recording, it only makes his brow furrow in confusion as a stream of unanswerable questions swarm his mind:</p>
<p>Why was he so angry? True, he wasn’t exactly a paragon of self-restraint and had been known to lose his temper from time to time (hence Steelbeak’s appropriate nickname of “short fuse”), but it usually took something big to set him off like that. He hadn’t known that level of blind fury in quite some time.</p>
<p>Why had he drawn his gun on Steelbeak? Sure, they still fought and argued now and then, but he hadn’t pointed his gun at the other gem since their first meeting- and even <em>that</em> had just been as a threat (it wasn’t an empty one, mind you, but he hadn’t <em>fully</em> intended to go through with it at the time). He honestly couldn’t imagine anything that would make him threaten Steelbeak in such an extreme way- especially when the other man was unarmed.</p>
<p>Why did Steelbeak look so sad? Sympathy wasn’t something that came easily to the melanite- he’d been part of F.O.W.L. practically since he’d formed and they taught him early on that things like sympathy and empathy were weaknesses. Over their millennia as partners, Domino had seen Steelbeak’s walls come down significantly as he learned to open himself up more to those he trusted, but one thing remained true: He only bothered sympathizing or empathizing with someone he had a very close connection to- namely Domino, Loony, and maybe one or two other gems (though mostly the former two). That look in his eyes told Domino that, whatever had happened between the two of them, in that moment Steelbeak was likely sympathizing with <b><em>him</em></b>- he felt that pain for <b><em>Domino</em></b>.</p>
<p>And what did Steelbeak mean by “I didn’t know”? What didn’t he know? What could Domino have been asking (demanding?) of him that he would say that? What information could he be accused of knowing that would cause Domino to act in such a way? Steelbeak was usually on top of things- there wasn’t much he didn’t know when it came to intel- so what did he-?</p>
<p>“It’s not gonna happen!” Loony’s voice pulls him from his negative thoughts. When Domino looks away from the holograms of himself and Steelbeak’s broken stone, he sees that Loony has moved to stand next to him, the spinel looking up at him with determination in her eyes. “This future’s stupid, so it’s not gonna happen! Right, Dommy?”</p>
<p>Domino wants to reassure her, he really does. He wants to tell her with 100% conviction that it won’t happen, but he knows that would be a lie. So, he chooses his words carefully.</p>
<p>“The future isn’t set in stone.” He gives his oldest and closest friend his best attempt at a reassuring smile. “After all, if it was, Gandra wouldn’t be here in the first place, right?”</p>
<p>“You’ve got me there.” Gandra shrugs from her seat, finally letting the holograms and grid-lines disappear along with her headphones and the disk she’d been using to control everything. “I’ve been wrong before. Sometimes knowing the future can change the outcome, and sometimes a single strong emotion is a big enough variable to tip the scales. Like I said, it’s the most likely future, but it’s not the only one.”</p>
<p>That, at least, seems to be enough to cheer Loony up, making her smile once more. “Then we’ve got nothing to worry about! Let’s go save Steely!” She declares while running out of the room towards the exit.</p>
<p>Domino nods in agreement, keeping his smile in place until Loony is out of sight and earshot. “Gandra..” He turns to look at the star-sapphire, his expression conveying the seriousness and gravity of his words. “Make sure Steelbeak knows about this when we bring him back. Don’t let him approach me if I seem…unstable.”</p>
<p>Gandra gives him an understanding nod, her expression mirroring his. “I’ll try, but you know how stubborn he can be.”</p>
<p>The comment makes the corner of Domino’s beak lift in the closest thing to a genuine smile he’s had since entering the room. “Believe me, I <b><em>know</em></b>.”</p>
<p>And with that, he walks towards the ship’s exit as well, hoping that they’re right about fate’s flexibility…</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I mentioned before in her character bio that Gandra was able to record her predictions and share them with others, so I figured the best way for her to do that would be in the most sci-fi way possible: HOLOGRAMS.</p>
<p>Also, will I ever write a long story that DOESN’T involve at least some degree of angst directed at characters I adore?</p>
<p>………</p>
<p>The answer is no, probably not xP</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Domino and Loony finally meet up with Liquidator and find Steelbeak..along with something else they never would have expected.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Forewarning for a bit of “body horror” in this part. If any of you have ever seen Steven Universe before, then you probably have an idea of what to expect- nothing OVERLY graphic, but mostly just a lot of unpleasant imagery.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Domino and Loony stand at the entrance to the water palace, looking up at the grand double-doors as they wait for entry. Domino still has their prisoner’s gem bubbled in his hand and he keeps a tight grip on it- he doesn’t know what’s going to happen next, but, according to Gandra’s predictions, at some point he’ll lose their bargaining chip and he wants to make sure that doesn’t happen until they have Steelbeak safe and secured.</p>
<p>Without even needing to knock, the doors swing inward to let them in. As the pair of gems venture inside, they get to fully take in the décor. For all of its size and elaborate architecture on the outside, the inside is mostly just a single large room. Granted, the room is tastefully decorated and furnished with ornate pillars and artistic sculptures, a variety of chairs along the edges of the room, and, in the center, a large rectangular table with three chairs on the end closest to the entrance and one large chair on the opposite end.</p>
<p>And every last bit of it is made of <b>ice</b> and <b><em>water</em></b>.</p>
<p>To most people, such a spectacle would be considered beautiful. Domino, on the other hand, knows better. Gandra was right in her earlier assessment of the building- Liquidator was just using it as a way to flex his figurative muscles and remind them (mostly Domino) of how powerful he truly is. Sadly, it’s working…</p>
<p>“Liqui?” Loony calls out to the seemingly empty room around them while looking around. “Steely?”</p>
<p>The “floor” near the table ripples and, within seconds, a familiar gem rises up out of the water.</p>
<p>The gemstone itself is the only thing that can still be considered familiar about the other man, Domino soon notices, as Liquidator has changed drastically since the last time he saw him: Rather than the buff, intimidating physique he previously used, he looks smaller- the harsh look he had before softened and smoothed out to something more friendly and approachable with scruffier ears and a brighter smile. His outfit has changed as well- instead of the elegant uniform he once wore, he now wears a simpler and far more casual high-collared sapphire blue sleeveless shirt with an arctic blue star on the front and dark oxford blue pants with a belt that looks like braided strands of ice with a solid ice-rose for a buckle. When he opens his eyes to look at them properly, both gems are surprised to see that his right eye seems to have been unnaturally split into two overlapping pupils with the top one being two shades lighter than his normal eye color, the bottom one being two shades darker, and, in the area where they overlap in the middle, the small semi-circle is the same, regular color as his other, unchanged eye.</p>
<p>“Ah, Loony, it’s been far too long!” He looks at her with a bright smile, stretching his hand over to hers in a familiar greeting. “How’s the most fun spinel in the universe doing? Inquiring minds are dying to know!”</p>
<p>Loony returns the smile, stretching her arm over to his and winding their equally bendy arms around each other before their hands meet for a quick high-five. “Hiya, Liqui! I’m great!” Her arm returns when the “handshake” ends and she looks the lapis lazuli over from head to foot (well, puddle, more accurately). “You look so different now!”</p>
<p>Liquidator chuckles, clearly enjoying the spinel’s familiar cheerful attitude. “I’m the new and improved Liquidator- now softer and 85% more marketable than the classic version. Oh, but where ARE my manners?” He pulls one of the chairs back for her and does a sweeping hand gesture towards it. “Please, have a seat!”</p>
<p>Loony giggles as she sits in the offered chair. “Thanks, Liqui!”</p>
<p>After pushing her chair in, Liquidator finally greets his other “guest”. His smile doesn’t falter for a moment, but the joy in his voice is more of a sharp, hollow-mockery compared to how he spoke with Loony. “Domino…good to see you’re still the same 100% original product that I remember.”</p>
<p>Domino chooses to ignore the less than subtle jab about him apparently being the same as he was 4,000 years ago. “Why mess with a classic?” He pulls his own chair out and takes a seat as well, his eyes never leaving the canine. “Now, if you’re done pretending this is a friendly visit, can we please get to the matter at hand?” He holds up the bubbled melanite in indication. “I believe you wanted to do a hostage exchange?”</p>
<p>Liquidator doesn’t look surprised at all to see the darker gem in the bubble. “I had a feeling he wouldn’t be able to sell you on his performance.” He moves over to the lone seat on the other side of the table and takes his place in it comfortably. “So, what did he do to get bubbled?”</p>
<p>Loony gives Liquidator a slightly embarrassed smile and waves one of her hands shyly. “Sorry, Liqui, that was me. I kiiiiiiiiiiinda lost my temper and squeezed him a teensy-weensy bit too hard.”</p>
<p>Liquidator gives her a reassuring smile in return. “Let me guess- he called you Domino’s spinel, didn’t he?” At a nod from the spinel in question, he sighs and shakes his head. “My apologies- I should have warned him not to do that.” He stretches his arm across the table and holds his hand out expectantly to Domino. “Now, simply hand him over and we can-”</p>
<p>Domino moves the hand holding the bubbled gem away from the stretched out limb, leaning back in his chair so that the hand holding it is now over the floor rather than the table. “Not until we know that Steelbeak is still in one piece.”</p>
<p>Liquidator’s hand snaps back over to his chest as he gasps, looking at the snowflake obsidian with an over-exaggerated look of surprise. “Why, Domino, are you doubting my honor as a businessman?!” When his over-acting gains no reaction from the other gem, Liquidator sighs and flicks his fingers in an upward gesture. “Fine, fine, I suppose it’s only fair for both parties to inspect the merchandise before bartering.” The floor beside the aquatic gem begins to ripple as it did when he entered earlier, a pointed block of ice slowly rising out of the water.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, while they’re both distracted looking at the floor across the room, neither Domino nor Loony see the shifting floor behind them. Before either of them even have time to notice it, the shift in the floor gets closer to Domino and a pair of hands reach out of the water, snatching the bubbled melanite and quickly bringing it down into the floor.</p>
<p>“Woah, what was that?!” Loony stares at the floor behind Domino, surprise clear on her face as she tries to sit up and see a trace of what happened.</p>
<p>Domino looks down to the floor, and the quickly vanishing bubble, with an irritated glare. There went their bargaining chip.. “So much for a fair trade.” He turns his glare across the table towards Liquidator.</p>
<p>“Sorry, you know how third-party vendors are- always so quick to take their payment and leave.” Liquidator shrugs, but never loses his easy salesman-pitch or poker-face smile. “I told his friends I’d guarantee his safe return, but I guess they just couldn’t wait.” He averts his gaze to the object rising up beside him. “But, I am a gem of my word, so here- signed, sealed, and delivered at no extra charge!”</p>
<p>The ice block finishes rising out of the floor all the way, revealing Steelbeak completely frozen and immobile inside. The position he’s stuck in makes it look like he was in the process of fighting back, his hands still positioned as they would be if he were holding his tommy-gun while his legs gave the impression he’d been stepping backwards. Liquidator tries to continue whatever he was saying before, but a pair of striped arms suddenly reaching across the room stops him.</p>
<p>Loony wraps her arms around Steelbeak’s frozen prison a few times before she pulls and snaps the ice block off at the base. “I got him, Dommy!” She rapidly retracts her arms to bring the other gem closer and sets the large chunk of ice down between herself and Domino.</p>
<p>“Well done, Loony.” He tells her before summoning one of his pistols from his gem and pointing it at his partner. The barrel turns a light orange color as flames shoot out, melting the ice almost instantly. Once enough of it is melted, he turns his attention back to Liquidator, the gun vanishing. “Now that we have what we came for, we’ll be on our way.”</p>
<p>Liquidator, to Domino’s displeased surprise, doesn’t look bothered at all about losing the melanite. He seems frustratingly calm about the whole thing as he leans back in his chair with another casual shrug. “Nine out of ten gem-physicians agree: Steelbeak’s not in any shape to leave just yet.”</p>
<p>“What are you-?” Domino starts to ask, but is soon distracted when he sees Steelbeak fall to his knees out of the corner of his eye. “Steelbeak?” He looks down at the other gem and his eyes widen as he finally gets a good look at his partner.</p>
<p>He’s on his knees with one hand braced against the floor to keep from falling over. With the ice gone, they can now see that his colors are duller than usual and, when he manages to look up at them with a clearly pained expression on his face, they see his eyes are a glassy grey with no pupils or irises. “H…Hey, snowflake…Hey, stretch…you…ya sure took your time, didn’t ya..?” Steelbeak’s words are clipped, his voice strained. He manages to lift himself up for a moment, but is forced back down when a tremor of pain wracks his body, causing his free hand to clutch at his gemstone while the light making up his body flickers.</p>
<p>The action draws his teammates’ eyes to Steelbeak’s gem and, even if they only see it for a moment, they both notice the large, splintered crack in the normally pristine black rock.</p>
<p>“Steely!” Loony’s crouching down at his side instantly, looking extremely worried for the melanite’s well-being. “Are you okay?!”</p>
<p>Domino, on the other hand, is unable to move for a minute. He stares down at his partner of more than 8,000 years, his mind caught between shock at seeing the normally strong rooster brought to his knees and concern for the amount of pain the other gem is clearly suffering through. Eventually, though, the shock and concern merge together with something far stronger: Protective fury.</p>
<p>Directing that fury at the only one in the room deserving of it, Domino summons both of his guns from his gem and points them at Liquidator. “You <b>CRACKED</b> him?!” He fires anything and everything at his disposal, the barrels of his signature weapons turning a myriad of colors as he fires shot after shot at the lapis lazuli- orange for a burst of flames, icy blue for freezing ice bullets, bright yellow for sparking electrified rounds, dark blue for streams pressurized water, bright white for a blinding white flare, green for a shot of sticky slime, purple for a cloud of toxic gas, translucent white for bullets made of compressed air, and classic black for regular lead bullets.</p>
<p>Liquidator is once again unfazed by the change in atmosphere and, with nothing more than a simple raise of his hand, he easily brings up an entire wall of water in front of him that blocks each and every shot that’s sent his way. He waits until Domino’s calmed down enough- or rather, until he’s realized how futile his attacks are in this situation and begrudgingly stops firing- before looking at the loon with a bored expression. “Are you done yet?”</p>
<p>“…….” Even though his attack has stopped, the anger in Domino’s eyes has not lessened one bit.</p>
<p>“Good.” The wall of water recedes, Liquidator apparently confident that Domino won’t try anything else for the time being. “Now, that that’s over, please understand that I really DID call you here just to talk.”</p>
<p>“<em>Talk</em>?” Domino’s guns disappear and he leans forward over the table, his empty hands coming down to grip the icy furniture in a crushing grip that cracks the edges a little. “You kidnapped my partner, cracked him, and sent an impostor to lure me into a trap. I have <b>nothing</b> to say to you.” Just like all those years ago, if looks alone could kill then Liquidator’s gem would have exploded from the barely restrained fury in those glaring red eyes.</p>
<p>The lapis lazuli sighs with a roll of his own mismatched eyes. “All of which could have been 100% avoidable if Steelbeak just listened to me when I told him to call you over. Instead, he decided to throw out petty insults, fight me, and even deactivated his beacon so you couldn’t track him, when all <b><em>I</em></b> wanted was a friendly chat.”</p>
<p>“Hmph, ‘<em>friendly’</em> he says..” Steelbeak’s voice maintains its usual amount of sarcasm despite the pain he’s in as Loony helps him up into one of the chairs. He keeps his hand on his gem, sending a weakened glare across the table at their “host”. “Last time we saw ya, ya walked out on us, shackled me, stabbed me, and threatened t’ break us if we came anywhere near ya…forgive me if I was less than <b>willin’</b> t’ call my partner int’ a <b><em>trap</em></b>.”</p>
<p>“……” That, at least, made Liquidator look away briefly with an expression that seemed marginally guilt-ridden. “I won’t apologize for what I did or how I left.” He finally says with a sigh before looking back across the table at the other gems. “But..just know that I am not the same gem that I was back then.”</p>
<p>“Clearly.” Domino’s voice is dripping with equal parts venom and sarcasm. “After all, the old you would’ve- what were your words again? Oh, right-” He narrows his eyes, quietly seething as he paraphrases the lapis lazuli’s parting words back to him. “- ‘<b>broken</b> him and made me <b>watch</b> the whole thing’.”</p>
<p>Liquidator sighs again, this time in frustration as he drags one hand down his face. “I really didn’t want it to come to that..” He holds his hands up in a gesture meant to show no harm, though it isn’t quite as meaningful given their current surroundings and the gem’s earlier display. “Listen, all I want is ten minutes of your time. If you agree to give me that, then I’ll make sure Steelbeak is able to leave here in better shape than he came in.”</p>
<p>Domino nearly refuses the offer, each second around the liquid lapis lazuli making his irritation grow. However, a look at his partner- at the pained look in his eyes as he struggles to remain upright, all while trying to keep his face as neutral as possible to hide his suffering and not appear as weak as he likely feels- is enough to make him reconsider.</p>
<p>“You get five minutes.” He sits back down, keeping his arms crossed to help resist the urge to shoot the other gem.</p>
<p>“A shrewd negotiator as always.” Liquidator’s earlier grin returns. “Fine, I’m flexible enough to change the terms and conditions- five minutes it is.” He begins to stretch his arm across the table towards Steelbeak. “And, just to show that I’m willing to keep <em>my</em> end of the bargain-”</p>
<p>Domino raises one of his hands and a barrier-bubble instantly appears around his partner (the flash of white also helping to hide the way the rooster flinched when he saw the approaching appendage- he must still be shaken up over what happened, he usually never flinches in the face of danger), preventing the watery hand from reaching its target. “What are you going to do?” He has no reason to trust Liquidator’s words, not at this point.</p>
<p>“As I said, I’m upholding my side of our agreement.” Liquidator explains. “This new form of mine isn’t just fashionable, it’s also quite functional- I’ve picked up some handy new tricks.”</p>
<p>Domino still doesn’t feel like the lapis lazuli’s words are worth anything- not after what he did to Steelbeak and what he’d threatened to do before- but a familiar presence at his side finally pulls his attention away from the blue gem. “Dommy..” He looks to his left and sees Loony standing next to him, but her eyes are on Liquidator as she speaks. “I don’t get any bad feelings from him…I think…I think he’s telling the truth.” She looks back down at Domino. “He really wants to fix Steely.”</p>
<p>Domino is still hesitant to trust Liquidator, given his track record.</p>
<p>……</p>
<p>…but, he <b>does</b> trust Loony’s judgement…</p>
<p>Reluctantly, he releases his barrier, giving the blue gem a warning glare. “If you try <em>anything</em>-”</p>
<p>“I won’t.” Liquidator reassures him, his hand moving the rest of the way to Steelbeak’s chest.</p>
<p>The melanite is more than a little hesitant to move his hand off of his gemstone, but, after looking to Domino and receiving a brief nod to confirm that he won’t let anything happen to him, he slowly pulls his hand away to reveal the cracked black stone beneath.</p>
<p>Liquidator places his hand against the stone and, to the surprise of the three darker gems, it begins to glow and shimmer as if sunlight were streaming through his palm. When his hand retracts, the melanite is as nearly-flawless as it was before.</p>
<p>Steelbeak looks down at his stone in surprise, his colors having regained their usual vibrancy and his eyes returned to normal. “Would ya look at that..?” He looks across the table to the watery gem. “Since when did <b>you</b> become part rose quartz?”</p>
<p>Liquidator grins in response, a few bubbles visible in his chest as a sign of quiet laughter. “It’s a long and dramatic tale involving a fusion-addicted jasper, some corrupted gems, my own far-too-close-for-comfort brush with corruption-” He taps the side of his head by his misshapen eye for indication. “-and a fountain of healing tears that became my new body to save my life.” He waves his hand dismissively and shakes his head. “But, that’s a tale for another day. For now, I have a different story that I believe you’ll find far more interesting.”</p>
<p>“Your five minutes starts now.” Domino informs him, glancing at his watch to confirm the time.</p>
<p>“Very well then, I’ll give you the quick sales-pitch version.” Liquidator moves a hand over the table and small, three-dimensional figures of himself, a sapphire that looks like he’s part plant and part duck, and a tall gem bearing two gemstones- one on its cheek and one on its chest- with the appearance of a duck crossed with a rodent that Domino hasn’t seen before all appear out of the water on the table’s surface. “I’ve been on this planet with my friends-”</p>
<p>“Ya mean that pathetic little sapphire of yours and the fusion?” Steelbeak interrupts him with a condescending smirk.</p>
<p>“<b>Bushroot</b> and <b>Goldy</b>.” Liquidator gives the melanite a warning growl, but puts on a falsely understanding smile. “I know it can be hard to remember who my <b><em>real</em></b> friends are, but I’ve found it gets easier with time.”</p>
<p>Steelbeak rolls his eyes at the cheap shot regarding their conversation when he left. “The fusion’s got a name now? Woooow, you sound so attached- next thing ya know you’re gonna tell us <b>you’ve</b> done it, too.” He laughs at the very idea of it, not noticing the smirk on Liquidator’s face until he speaks again.</p>
<p>“I have.” Liquidator’s smirk only grows when the melanite’s laughter stops suddenly and makes him stare in disbelief at the lapis lazuli. “A few times, actually. Bushroot and I have a lovely fusion that goes by Angelite.” He chuckles, not caring about the confused and/or mildly disturbed looks he’s receiving from the other gems. “Anyway, back to the matter at hand.” He gestures to the figures on the table once again. “I’ve been on this planet with my friends for a while now, and we’ve decided that we all enjoy the freedom we’re granted here. We’ve abandoned our respective places in the Diamonds’ hierarchy and chosen to live here on Earth instead.” His smile slowly turns into a frown as an image of the Earth rises out of the table. “Recently, though, we’ve found out about a Diamond project known as ‘the Cluster’.” The image of the Earth splits open to reveal a large, jagged mass of something in the center of the planet. “It’s an enormous cluster of gem shards in the planet’s core that, when activated, will turn the planet into a living geo-weapon for the Diamonds…and destroy everything on the planet’s surface in the process.”</p>
<p>“Tragic,” Domino’s tone and expression are both equally dead-pan, showing how little he cares for the billions of lives that will be lost. “However, what weapons the Diamonds create and what happens to you, your friends, and this planet, have nothing to do with us.”</p>
<p>“A week or two ago, I would have agreed with you…but <em>these</em> started popping up out of the ground..” Liquidator concedes before moving his hand again to create images that are, honestly, unsettling to look at: A group of gem creatures that look like forcefully mashed together body parts from various different types of gems and animals. They all have hollow, empty eyes on their mismatched faces and several of them have multiple limbs or random body parts growing out of the wrong places. “We’ve started calling these ‘mini-clusters’.” Liquidator explains with a troubled frown. “It looks like they were early prototypes and by-products of the Diamonds’ experiments for the cluster. They have no mental activity, no ability to recognize anything or anyone around them…all they do is scream in pain and attack anything in their way..” He dismisses the images on the table and raises his hand beside himself, causing the floor to ripple as a blue-bubbled holo-disk rises up into his waiting palm. “A few days ago, we fought one that stood out to me. One of our allies on this planet wears armor with a video recorder built into his helmet- he was able to capture a good image of it during our fight.” The bubble around the disk pops and he sets it on the table, the surface shifting as the disk is carried from his end of the table to theirs. “I couldn’t be certain since it’s been a few thousand years and I only saw the images once or twice..but…I want you to take a look at it and tell me if you see anything <em>familiar</em>.”</p>
<p>More than a little curious, Domino touches a button on the small device. It activates and projects a three-dimensional hologram above the disk showing another one of the “mini-clusters”.</p>
<p>Steelbeak glances at the hologram, having a side-view of it, before looking back at Liquidator. “So, lemme get this straight, drippy- ya put us through all this just t’ show us some mashed t’gether gems? Like Dom said, we ain’t involved in whatever the Diamonds got planned for this rock. Right, snowflake?” When he doesn’t receive an answer right away, he looks back to his partner. “Deedee..?”</p>
<p>“……” Domino still doesn’t answer the other gem. He’s too busy staring in wide-eyed disbelief at the image in front of him. Then, to his partner’s utter shock, a tear slowly falls from his eye and trails down the dark feathers of his cheek.</p>
<p>“Domino?” Steelbeak’s definitely concerned now. Domino’s a tough gem, he doesn’t break down easily or crack under pressure and he doesn’t cry over nothing- especially not when there’s other people around to see it. In the thousands of years they’ve been together, he’s only been allowed to see the loon shed tears twice before, and both times were related to the <em>exact same thing</em>…</p>
<p>“Dommy..Dommy, I don’t get it..” Loony seems just as surprised as Domino, but far more confused. She looks away from the hologram with a frown on her beak so that she can look at the other dark-feathered bird instead. “You said shattered means ‘gone forever’, right? But if it means ‘gone forever’, then how come he’s right there?”</p>
<p>Before the melanite can ask who she’s talking about, a single word, said in a broken voice brimming with confusion and despair, leaves his partner’s beak:</p>
<p>“…Chuck…?”</p>
<p>“What?!” Steelbeak’s eyes widen in surprise this time. “ ‘<em>Chuck’</em>? As in <b><em>Checkers</em></b>- your old partner?” He gets out of his chair and moves around behind Domino and Loony to get a better look at the hologram.</p>
<p>From his new angle, Steelbeak can see the “mini-cluster” in its entirety: It’s as horrifying of a mashed together amalgamation of gems as the ones they were shown before with more limbs than it should’ve had in various colors of fur and feathers. The face he’d seen from his side had been that of some white-feathered duck he’d never seen before. From the front, though, he can see the other side of its face is that of a male dog with dark fur and a gray muzzle. It even has the dog’s arm and shoulder connecting up to the rest of him through a small sliver of his neck- fragments of clothing such as a brown sleeve and matching fingerless glove still being worn on its body. If that wasn’t enough of a confirmation, the “mini-cluster”’s gemstone on its chest, which looked like it was a forcefully fused together mass of different colored and textured gem shards, had a rather prominent chunk of a black and red fire round-radiated cut opal visible on the same side as the dog’s face.</p>
<p>Domino can’t seem to tear his eyes away from the image in front of him. How long had it been since he’d seen that face in something other than the millennia old holo-disk pictures in his room? But..the face isn’t right- there are no traces of its usual bright smile and its usually vibrant eyes are gone, replaced with a single pitch-black hole devoid of any visible life or emotion it may have once held.</p>
<p>It’s honestly the most horrific thing he’s seen in his entire life…</p>
<p>“So, I <em>was</em> right..” Liquidator mutters quietly before looking across the table to the others again. “We thought that ‘the Cluster’ was just the Diamonds’ way of getting payback for what happened to Pink Diamond..but, from what I heard, Checkers was shattered thousands of years before the Earth was even picked for colonization and in a completely different solar system- that would mean that this plan was in the works long before Pink Diamond’s shattering, or even the early stages of the rebellion.”</p>
<p>Steelbeak seems to be the only one out of the trio able to find his words, reaching forward to turn off the hologram to not only give him a better view of the blue gem on the other side, but to give his partner a reprieve from the gruesome sight. “Why’d ya call us, Liq? And don’t say it’s just ‘cause ya wanted t’ tell us about this mess.”</p>
<p>Liquidator sighs, looking at the melanite with a more pleading expression than he can ever remember seeing on the lapis lazuli’s face before. “Because I need your help.” The gravity of the situation is not lost on Steelbeak- he knows how much the other gem hates asking for help, so it must be <b>seriously</b> bad if he’s saying it out loud. “I’m looking into this whole ‘Cluster’ experiment as much as I can from here, but there’s only so much I can do..not like you three with your freedom to travel from planet to planet or your extensive information network and resources back on homeworld. I knew that if anyone could unravel this mystery, it would be you.” He frowns a bit. “I know I don’t really have the right to ask for your help, not after what happened before..but this whole thing feels bigger than that- bigger than all of us- and it’s not something that any of us can piece together on our own.” His eyes shift down to look at Domino, the loon’s eyes staring ahead unseeingly. “Plus…now that you’ve seen <b><em>that</em></b>..I doubt you’d be able to ignore it anytime soon…”</p>
<p>Steelbeak glances back down at the snowflake obsidian as well, trying to keep his face neutral despite the clear concern in his gaze. “…….” Taking a deep breath, the taller gem looks back over to Liquidator. “What did ya have in mind?”</p>
<p>“A simple exchange of information.” Liquidator proposes. With a raising of his hand again, another bubble rises up out of the floor beside him. When he pops this one and slides it across the table, they’re able to see that this one is a personal communicator. “I’ll provide you with any information that we find over here about ‘the Cluster’ and its ‘mini-clusters’, and you can do the same. Oh…and..here…” With a sympathetic frown, he brings one final bubble up out of the floor. This one, however, he does not pop before sliding it down the table to them. “Consider it a gesture of goodwill…and for old times’ sake..”</p>
<p>The bubble he slides to them contains the mass of shards from the hologram that made up the “mini-cluster”’s horribly fused together gemstone.</p>
<p>Domino’s eyes finally move from their forward position, looking downward at the bubbled mass of shards. “……” Without a word, he picks up the bubbled “gem” and walks briskly to the exit, Loony following close behind him.</p>
<p>Steelbeak stares after him for a minute before turning back to Liquidator with a scowl. “That was a low blow, Liq.”</p>
<p>“Perhaps..” Liquidator shakes his head. “But desperate times call for desperate measures.”</p>
<p>“……” That answer only makes Steelbeak scowl at him with a scathing glare before he picks up the communicator and follows after the rest of his team. “We’ll be in touch.”</p>
<p>“That’s all I’m asking for.” Liquidator watches the last of the darker gems leave, the door slamming shut harshly behind him, before he lets out a tired, worn-out sigh and leans forward to rest his head against his hands where they’re braced on the table. “……I’m sorry..” Alone in his palace of ice and water now, the quietly spoken words echo and fade away into nothingness.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Was Liquidator’s plan to show Domino and the others Checkers’ forced-fusion to make them intrigued enough to investigate it and the Cluster effective? Absolutely. Does he feel good about doing it? Not at all.</p>
<p>Like I said before, his relationship with Domino &amp; Steelbeak is complicated and, even though  they left on bad terms and had a mutually manipulative and almost parasitic friendship, he DID still see them as his friends for a while. He knew that doing this would trigger a lot of Domino’s past trauma involving Checkers, but he also knew it would work. The decision to involve them was NOT an easy one and he wrestled with it for a while before finally deciding that he needed to do it to get their help. Sometimes you have to do things you don’t like to help those you care about, but it can be hard when those actions end up hurting others- even if you’re not that close to them.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Despite all the warnings, both from Gandra and from his own instincts, Steelbeak goes to check on Domino after they return to the ship. It goes about as well as he expects..</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Time for a delicious double-decker chapter sandwich of angst, backstory, fluff, and more angst. Enjoy the suffering!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Steelbeak walks through the halls of his ship, a determined look on his face as he heads for one particular room..</p>
<p>Along the way, he sees Loony sitting near her shelf of “treasures”, the spinel currently huddled against it with many of the softer toys and trinkets pulled down to cover her in a make-shift cocoon until only her beak and eyes are visible through a small hole in the front.</p>
<p>“Steely..” Loony slowly stretches her head out of the soft fortress so that she can meet the melanite’s eyes properly as she speaks. She has a troubled frown on her face, looking more nervous that he can ever remember seeing her. “He’s not okay, Steely…I..I-I keep feeling lots and lots and LOTS of bad things from him, even all the way over here..” She looks up at him, her eyes almost pleading. “Dommy hasn’t felt this bad before…I know I’m supposed to cheer him up and make him all better, but..but I don’t know what to do…he..h-he won’t even talk to me..” Steelbeak sees the spinel’s eyes misting over-</p>
<p>Nope. Can’t have that at all.</p>
<p>“ ‘ey, c’mon, Loons- this is Domino we’re talkin’ ‘bout here, right?” The rooster asks while patting her on the head, giving Loony an encouraging and confident smile. “Snowflake’s tough as they come, he’s just gotta blow off some steam for a bit and he’ll be good t’ go in no time.”</p>
<p>Loony looks up at him with a concerned frown. “You sure?”</p>
<p>“ ‘ey, would I lie to ya?” Before she can answer, he starts digging in his pockets for something. “Tell ya what, if it makes ya feel any better, I’ll go have a little chit-chat with ‘im right now and make sure he’s okay.” He finds what he’s looking for and pulls out a small box with a red ribbon on it. “While I do that, why don’tcha play with your new present?”</p>
<p>The sight of the small box instantly brightens the stretchy gem’s mood and her arms extend out of the cocoon to grab the offered gift, not minding the few items that got knocked over in the process. “You remembered!” She says with an excited smile while taking the ribbon off and opening the box. “Wowie-wow-wow!” She exclaims excitedly, her eyes practically shining as she pulls out what looks like a shiny metallic cube made of many smaller, different colored cubes. “It’s so colorful! What is it??”</p>
<p>“It’s some Earth-creature game.” Steelbeak explains, pointing to the different colored cubes. “Ya turn an’ twist it ‘til ya get each side the same color.”</p>
<p>Loony curiously starts twisting and turning the rows of the cube, looking bewildered by the way the smaller cubes move. “Ooooooh!” She manages to look away from the moving, shimmering, brightly-colored toy and gives Steelbeak a hug, her long arms wrapping around him several times over. “Thanks, Steely! I love it!”</p>
<p>It’s times like these that Steelbeak’s glad he’s not an organic and lacks a skeletal structure- otherwise, he’s pretty sure Loony would’ve broken his back and arms more than a few times by now. “Anytime, doll.” He takes a moment to fix his bowtie and straighten his jacket before continuing his trek down the hall. “I’ll check back in ten- don’t break it.” He calls with a wave over his shoulder, receiving an affirmative response as the other gem is already engrossed in trying to solve the small and colorful puzzle.</p>
<p>Well, at least she’s back to normal. One down, one to g-</p>
<p>The door to the cockpit opens when he’s about to walk past it, Gandra stepping out and holding her hand up parallel to his face so he doesn’t have a reason to say he didn’t see her. “Hold it.”</p>
<p>Steelbeak stops, but he definitely doesn’t look happy about it. Crossing his arms and tapping his foot impatiently, he looks down at the star-sapphire with an impatient and annoyed scowl. “Is this gonna take long? I gotta go talk t’ Deedee.”</p>
<p>“I would wait on that, if I were you.” Gandra warns him, crossing her own arms to match his annoyed stance. “Going in there right now could be dangerous. You should wait until he’s calmed down.”</p>
<p>Steelbeak actually laughs at her for that one. “You seriously think he’s gonna calm down if I sit around an’ wait? You don’t know ‘im that well, do ya, stardust?” He tries to walk around her, but is blocked by the arm she extends in front of him. “Gandra.” He says her name in a warning, threatening tone of voice- showing that he’s slowly moving past “annoyed” with her interference and into more dangerous territory.</p>
<p>“I did a reading before they went down to rescue you.” She doesn’t budge from her stance, but she also doesn’t raise her head to meet his eyes, either. “The future I saw…ends with Domino shooting you..and you getting shattered…” Her words are heavy, weighed down by the seriousness and gravity she’s trying to express with her tone of voice alone.</p>
<p>“Ya done?” Steelbeak doesn’t look even slightly bothered by the star-sapphire’s news. When he doesn’t receive a response right away, he lifts her arm out of the way so he can move past her. “I’m <em>real’</em> moved by your concern, toots- I’m so touched, I might start cryin’- but I know how t’ handle old short fuse when he’s moody.”</p>
<p>Gandra finally looks up at the other bird, catching his wrist before he can get too far away. “Don’t you get it?!” She turns to face him fully, keeping a firm grip so he can’t just brush her off like he normally would. “This is different- he might <b>actually</b> kill you if you go in there right now. I know you don’t want to hear it, but you need to know that there’s a 99.9998% chance that you’ll DIE. So just <em>listen</em> for once and-”</p>
<p>“No, <b>YOU</b> listen t’ <b><em>ME</em></b>.” Steelbeak snatches his hand out of her grasp but, instead of walking away, he uses that same hand to grab Gandra’s arm in return. He easily picks her up so the two of them are now startled-blue-eye-to-glaring-black-eye. “First: This ain’t the first- or last- time I’ve walked in there knowin’ I’d get my head bit or blown off. I <b>know</b> what I’m walkin’ int’, alright?” He holds up his other hand, counting off his points as he lists them. “Two: You ain’t got no say in when I go see my partner- I wanna talk to ‘im, I’m GONNA talk to ‘im. And three:” He drops her so she lands roughly on the floor, turning to continue his walk. “If Dom was THAT predictable, we wouldn’t still be partners after this long.” He doesn’t wait to hear her response as he walks away.</p>
<p>Gandra watches him walk away, her annoyed scowl losing its edge as he heads further down the hall. “…..” She looks down at the floor bitterly, saying her words so quietly that no one could possibly hear them but her. “You’ve still got a 0.0002% chance of surviving..hope your luck’s good enough to beat those odds..”</p>
<p>Steelbeak eventually reaches his destination. He looks at the door emblazoned with the image of a step-cut black and white snowflake obsidian and, for a second, he hesitates to go in. With a quick shake of his head, though, the hesitation is gone and he walks right in.</p>
<p>“Knock, knock.” He calls as he walks into the other gem’s room, not bothering to knock for real before or after entering. He spots Domino seated at the table on the left side of the room in the seat further from the door, the loon hunched over whatever he’s working on (though Steelbeak already has a pretty good idea what it is) and apparently unaware of the rooster’s entrance. Not one to beat around the bush, Steelbeak walks right up to the table and takes his place in the seat beside Domino, opting to sit backwards so that he’s leaning back casually against the table in the backless chair as opposed to his partner’s properly seated position facing it. “How’s it goin’, snowflake?”</p>
<p>Now that he’s closer, Steelbeak has a better view of what Domino’s working on and is, for once, disappointed to find out he was right:</p>
<p>The obsidian is hard at work breaking off pieces of the “mini-cluster”. The forcefully fused mass of shards is held tightly within his right hand while his left employs different methods for breaking off the other shards. On the table in front of him are an assortment of tools ranging from high grade pliers to a 155 micro-inch laser cutter (the one from Steelbeak’s tool box, he mentally notes) and even a pointed white gem destabilizer.</p>
<p>Red eyes narrowed as he focuses on the task at hand, Domino doesn’t seem to register Steelbeak’s entrance when the taller gem first walks in, having been too busy trying to break off a sharp jade fragment using his barrier-glove reinforced left hand. He does, however, notice when the melanite brazenly takes a seat next to him. Not looking away from the shards in his hand as he attempts to break off the jade fragment, one harshly spoken (practically growled out) word leaves the loon’s beak. “<b><em>OUT</em></b>.”</p>
<p>Steelbeak doesn’t budge, literally or figuratively. “The pliers’d be better for that one.” He suggests, trying to hand the tool over to the struggling gem.</p>
<p>“I said..get…<b><em>OUT</em></b>.” Domino ignores the suggestion and the offered pliers, still trying to break off the green shard by hand. It does eventually break..unfortunately only the tip of it breaks off, further frustrating him. “Darn it!” He throws the splintered-off shard against the wall by the table in frustration.</p>
<p>Steelbeak shrugs calmly at the aggravated display. “Hate t’ say I told ya so, but I <em>did</em> warn ya…” When he sees Domino trying the same approach on another shard, he starts to reach over with the hand closest to the loon. “Here, lemme-”</p>
<p>Before he can get anywhere near the cluster of shards, Domino’s barrier-gloved hand shoots out and grabs the melanite by the wrist, slamming and pinning the other gem’s hand to the table harshly. “I told you to GET <b><em>OUT</em></b>!” He looks his partner in the eye for the first time since he entered the room; sadly, it’s a look filled with frustration that’s quickly boiling into full-blown rage.</p>
<p>Steelbeak winces slightly at first when his hand is pressed to the table, but he recovers quickly enough and meets the snowflake obsidian’s eyes calmly. “I was just tryin’ t’ help, Deedee.”</p>
<p>“<b><em>Help</em></b>?” Domino releases the rooster’s wrist and shoves his arm away. “I don’t want <em>help</em>, I want <b>answers</b>!” He grips the mass of shards tightly in his hand and holds it close to his chest, paying no mind to the way the sharp bits of broken stone dig painfully into his body. “I want to know how one of my partner’s shards ended up on the <b>other side of the universe</b> THOUSANDS of years after his death! I want to know what happened to the <b>rest</b> of him!” He grabs Steelbeak’s collar with his barrier-gloved hand and pulls him closer to properly meet his enraged red-eyed glare. “And I want you to tell me what YOU know about all of this!”</p>
<p>To his credit, Steelbeak doesn’t flinch or back away at all- he just meets the shorter gem’s menacing glare head on with a firm, unwavering look of his own. “I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout this, Dom.”</p>
<p>“That’s a load of concrete, and you know it!” Domino snaps at him, getting to his feet so he can look down on the rooster while keeping a firm grip on his collar. “You’re the chief agent of F.O.W.L.- you know <b>all</b> of their plans!”</p>
<p>“And <b>you’re</b> my partner.” Steelbeak counters, looking up into the other gem’s eyes unflinchingly. “If this was F.O.W.L.’s doin’, you’d know as much ‘bout it as me- that’s part of bein’ partners, remember? We’re equals.”</p>
<p>“Not in White Diamond’s court.” The obsidian’s grip tightens. “Liquidator said this whole thing was the Diamonds’ project. As one of her elite garnets, you have to know <em>something</em>!”</p>
<p>“Oh, <em>please</em>…” Steelbeak rolls his eyes, prying the other gem’s hand off of his shirt but being careful to only touch the gloved sections. “I’m ‘bout as loyal t’ White as YOU are. Even <b><em>she</em></b> knows that- that’s why she don’t tell me nothin’ ‘less it’s got somethin’ t’ do with takin’ over a planet.” He looks back up into the other gem’s eyes, still holding onto his hand. “If I knew anythin’ ‘bout this, I’d’ve told ya YEARS ago.”</p>
<p>Domino snatches his hand away, the barrier disappearing as one of his guns appears in it instead. “And I’m just supposed to trust your <b><em>word</em></b>?” He points his pistol right at Steelbeak’s chest, his normally analytical mind clouded by his racing thoughts and warring emotions- fury, confusion, betrayal, sorrow, rage; it was overwhelming. “How do I know you weren’t sent to spy on me? To make sure I didn’t turn around and rebel? You were assigned to me right after I lost Checkers- did they do that so I wouldn’t have time to dwell on it? So I wouldn’t have time to <b>mourn</b> and ask <b>questions</b>?” His eyes are starting to burn, but he will not let a single tear fall, not until he receives the answers he wants- no, <b>needs</b> to hear. “How am I supposed to trust your word when you won’t even tell me anything?!” His hand, normally so steady and calm whether he was aiming his weapon at a random organic creature or a fellow gem, is now shaking so badly that he can’t even aim straight. He starts to readjust his grip without lowering the gun-</p>
<p>A feathered hand comes up to rest on top of his pistol in a surprisingly gentle motion. Steelbeak guides the deadly weapon until the mouth of the barrel is pressed right against his gem. Once it’s in place, he looks up into Domino’s eyes once more. This time, though, he doesn’t look calm, he just looks…sad. “Dominic, I didn’t know.”</p>
<p>Domino is about to say something else, to accuse the shifty rooster of lying to him yet again while tightening his grip on his weapon to keep it steady..</p>
<p>But then the name registers in his mind.</p>
<p><em>Dominic</em>.</p>
<p>Not Domino, or Dom, or Deedee. <em>Dominic</em>.</p>
<p>Steelbeak doesn’t call him by his name- his <b><em>real</em></b> name- lightly…</p>
<p>
  <em>The trio of dark gems stood together on the walkway of F.O.W.L.’s spaceship hangar. They watched as a vehicle below engaged a tractor beam to drag away the twisted and distorted mass of golden metal that was once the “Lucky Star”.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Loony turned to look up at Steelbeak with a frown. “Steely, I’m really, really, reeeaaaaaalllyyyyy sorry…”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“……” Steelbeak took in a deep breath and sighed, turning away from the sight of his once prized ship to give Loony an understanding smile and a pat on the head. “Eh, don’t worry ‘bout it, Loons- part of flyin’ ships is survivin’ the crashes.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>She only frowned more at his words. “But it was <b>my</b> fault we hit the mountain!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Steelbeak shrugged off her worries. “It’s just a ship, doll. They come, they go, we live another day an’ move on without ‘em.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“But you LIVED there!” Loony stretched her body so she was eye-level with the melanite. “What are you going to do now?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“She does have a point.” Domino commented, having been leaning against the railing and calmly observing the whole exchange. “Have you thought about where you’ll be staying?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>He was truly surprised by how calm his partner was over the whole ordeal. Loony was right about the ship being Steelbeak’s unofficial home: While the melanite could have easily requested a palace of his own due to his rank in White Diamond’s court, the thought of it often bothered him because it was too “ritzy” for his liking and because it wasn’t practical as he spent most of his time off of homeworld either conquering planets for White Diamond or running missions for F.O.W.L.. The sensible thing was for him to live in the same place he worked- the Lucky Star. He’d spent thousands upon thousands of years maintaining that ship and designing his own personal live-in room to his exact tastes. He’d even set up a small living space in the main room of the ship for any guests or “temporary” partners he had to bring with him with the bare-minimum furniture of a few chairs and a bench. Overall, the Lucky Star had been a small vessel, but it had been a home for Steelbeak for nearly 18,000 years.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And, in all honesty, Domino and Loony had begun to think of the gaudy golden ship fondly after spending so many years in its main room.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Snowflake,” Steelbeak looked over his shoulder at the obsidian with a smirk. “Do you REALLY think I’d be this calm if I didn’t already have somethin’ lined up?” He gestured for the other gems to follow him down the catwalk. “C’mon, I got somethin’ you’re both gonna like.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“??” Confused but curious, Loony looked to Domino with a questioning tilt of her head.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Domino replied with a silent shrug before the two of them followed the taller gem’s lead. He had as little of an idea about what was going on as Loony in this situation.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Steelbeak led them to a separate area of the hangar, going down the catwalk’s stairs at one point so they could walk among the countless ships. “Dom, Loons-” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black device that looked like a black crystal that was flat on the bottom with four prominent facets on the top. Steelbeak pushed one of the crystal’s facets and it lit up with a soft white light. Right after he pressed it, one of the nearby ships opened its hatch and the power came on inside of it, illuminating its dark features. “-say hello t’ the ‘Black Iron Comet’.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Domino and Loony stared at the large ship, taking in its sleek black form.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Neither of them were surprised when Loony was the first to approach the gleaming new ship. “Wooooooooow!” She stretched and swung her way around the ship, swinging around each of the wings before landing on the top by the striking red windshield so she could peer inside. “This is amazing, Steely! It’s huuuuuuge!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Steelbeak chuckled at the spinel’s enthusiasm as he walked towards the opened hatch and its extended ramp. “If ya like that, wait ‘til ya see what’s inside.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>While Loony cheered and swung back around the side of the ship to beat them to the opened hatch, Domino walked alongside his partner up the ramp. It was nice being able to actually <b>walk</b> into the new ship- the Lucky Star’s high-up entrance had left him with no way to get inside without relying on Steelbeak lifting him up to it on one of his platforms or Loony stretching an arm down to him, both of which were annoyingly inconvenient for him. “You must have pulled quite a few strings to have this ready on such short notice.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Steelbeak shrugged at his partner’s assumption. “I’ve had this beauty waitin’ in the wings for a while now. Not exactly how I thought I’d be introducin’ ya to ‘im, but the timin’ worked out great.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“The timing-?” Domino started to ask, but was unintentionally interrupted by Loony’s excited exclamations as she explored the ship’s interior with as much enthusiasm as she did its exterior.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“This is sooooooo much bigger than the last ship! And look at all the new furniture!” The stretchy gem brings attention to the elegant but tasteful set of chairs and benches in the main room when she jumps and lands on her back on one of the black and white cushioned benches. “This is gonna be a lot softer to sit on when we’re traveling!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Steelbeak grinned as he watched the spinel try out each of the chairs and benches. “I bet there’s a room down that hallway you’d like even better for that, doll.” He pointed down the hall in question and chuckled when the other gem immediately began to run down the hallway to see what he meant.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Domino, on the other hand, took his time looking over the new ship and its décor as he made his way down the same hallway. While the Lucky Star was nice, the gilded furniture and glittering colors were a bit gaudy for his taste- this one was much more to his liking. “I’m impressed, Steelbeak- your sense of style has improved quite a bit.” He looked up at the other gem, his tone light and teasing. “I can’t believe you’d actually own a ship this tasteful.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>To his surprise, Domino actually saw Steelbeak look away and- wait, was that red he saw under the taller bird’s cheek feathers? Was he…<b>BLUSHING</b>? While it certainly wasn’t the first time he’d made the rooster’s face heat up, it was interesting to see it happen when he wasn’t even trying to flirt with him.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“It ain’t just <b>my</b> ship..” The melanite’s voice was uncharacteristically quiet.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Before he had a chance to clarify what he meant- or perhaps as a cosmically timed way to do so- Loony’s excited voice called to them from the end of the hall. “DOMMYYYYYYY!!” She stretched her upper body to meet him halfway, her lower half standing in front of one of the doors. “We get our own rooms!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Domino blinked, his eyes widening slightly in surprise at his friend’s words. “We do?” He looked to Steelbeak for clarification, but the rooster was still avoiding eye contact with that little bit of red visible under his feathers.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Come on, come on! Look!” Loony’s upper body rapidly retracted back in place so she could point at the door beside her. “This one’s got my gem on it!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Domino caught up to her soon enough just by walking down the hallway and, when he arrived, he saw that she was correct. There were a series of rooms at the end of the hall. The first door on the right was blank (as was the one in the middle of the hall between the two sides), but the one next to it had a black heart-shaped spinel emblem right in the middle of it. Looking to the left, he saw that the first door had a black ball-cut melanite and the one directly next to it had a black and white step-cut snowflake obsidian.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Steelbeak reached around the pair and pressed a small panel beside the door with Loony’s gemstone on it. “Why don’t’cha take a peek inside, stretch?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The door opened to reveal a room that was surprisingly sparse on furniture, but very fitting for Loony, nonetheless: The floor had a black and white striped pattern that matched Loony’s arms and legs- the stripes stretching and twisting up along the walls to create decorative swirls. The lines all culminated at the top of the room to form a black border around the room’s see-through ceiling which would likely offer some amazing views once they were somewhere other than the hangar. There were also gleaming silver shelves built into the walls that housed a collection of colorful trinkets and toys from all over the galaxy, each shelf lined up so that it sat in the middle of one of the swirls on the walls. What little other furniture that existed in the room- primarily a large silver bench with cushions in a rainbow of colors- was built into the wall, as well, rather than sitting on the floor.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The moment Loony stepped into the room, Domino instantly realized the reason for the lack of floor-resting furniture.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Wowie!” Loony’s smile looked like it couldn’t get any bigger as the spinel stepped inside to look around her new room properly. “This is so pretty! I’ll be able to see the stars through-” When she stepped on the floor, she stopped and looked down, feeling the surface give slightly under her weight. “Huh?” Bringing her other foot beside the first, her eyes widened with a gasp as her body rocked up and down for a second. “Ah!” With a smile that practically split her beak and stars gleaming in her eyes, she began to jump and tumble all over the room- the floor recoiling before propelling her upwards relative to her momentum. “THE FLOOR IS BOUNCYYYYY!” She laughed in pure delight, enjoying herself immensely for a while before leaping back out of the room so that she crashed right into Steelbeak in a fierce hug. “I love it, Steely! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>After regaining his balance (and his bearings), Steelbeak grinned and gave the excited gem a pat on the head. “Eh, don’t mention it, doll. Now, go have some fun.” Giving him one last excited squeeze, Loony thanked him again and ran off into her new room to do as suggested. Once she was behind the door, Steelbeak exhaled a heavy breath and rubbed at his side. “That gal’s gonna poof me one o’ these days..”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Domino shook his head with a quiet laugh. “Perhaps..but, honestly, what did you expect would happen?” The loon turned to look at the door to his own room, as well as the one next to it as he walked to the other side of the hall. “Any particular reason our rooms are next to each other?” He glanced over his shoulder, giving his partner a smirk that never failed to fluster the taller bird.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>As usual, the flirtatious tone in Domino’s voice and the look sent his way had Steelbeak averting his eyes and brushing his fingers over his red comb, the color in his cheeks a bit more noticeable now. “That depends- ya want the smart reason or the stupid one?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Both.” Domino watched as the melanite crossed the hall to stand next to him again. “Start with the stupid one.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Always gotta make it difficult for me, don’t’cha?” Steelbeak crossed his arms and shrugged his shoulders, still not able to meet the shorter bird’s charming red eyes. “If ya REALLY wanna know, it <b>might</b> be ‘cause I actually kinda LIKE your company for some stupid reason.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>That was the exact answer Domino knew he’d get. “And the smart one?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>A slow smirk spread over Steelbeak’s metallic beak as he leaned down and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. “This way, neither of us gotta room next t’ Loony. She’s a sweet gal, love ‘er t’ pieces, but-” His sentence was punctuated by another cosmically timed event courtesy of a loud crash from the room behind them and a call of “I’m okay!”. “-well, ya get the idea..”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Domino agreed wholeheartedly, another quiet laugh making his shoulders shake. “Hmh, that IS smart.” His eyes drifted over to the unmarked door next to his own. “Who are the other rooms for?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Dunno yet.” Steelbeak’s answer involved another, more casual shrug. “Could be nobody, could be somebody- depends on what happens.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Domino regarded the taller gem with a curiously raised brow, repeating his words back to him. “ ‘On what happens’ with what, exactly?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“With what ya say next.” The melanite reached over to the panel by Domino’s door and pressed it, opening the room up for the other’s inspection.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Curiosity only heightened by the other’s words, Domino stepped into the room to have a proper look and was <b>not</b> disappointed at all by what he found: The walls of the room were as smooth as the black-stone exterior of the ship, but with white snowflakes scattered randomly across their surface to simulate falling snow. The white floor was pleasantly soft under his feet, the plush carpeting made to look like fallen snow. Looking up, Domino saw that the lighting for the room was provided by several tiny crystals embedded in the ceiling that were made to look like beams of sunlight poking through the grey cloud pattern painted above him. Bringing his gaze downward once again, he was pleased to see the furniture was as much to his taste as the seating in the main room- a small two-person table built into the wall on his left with matching backless chairs, a large book/datapad case that was also built into the wall a couple feet away from the table, a window (with blinders built in) on the far wall between a pair of black-framed armchairs with red cushions, and-…wait, was that curtain covering up?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Domino walked to the right side of the room where a sheer black curtain was draped over something built into the wall. He would’ve simply thought it was another window, but that wouldn’t make sense given that there should just be another room in that direction.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“What’s this?” He asked as he inspected the slip of fabric. Looking back to his partner for an answer only prompted the other bird to wave his hand in a “go on” gesture. Heeding the other gem’s unspoken advice, Domino tugged on the material until it slipped from its barely-held anchors and fell to the floor. “!!” His breath hitched at the sight of four shelves that, like the book/datapad case, were built into the wall. These shelves, however, were lined with holo-disks featuring images of Domino and the different gems he’d come to care for over the years:</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The top shelf had four different images of him and Loony- three of them being pictures the spinel took herself by stretching her arms out far enough to fit both of them in the picture while making silly faces at the camera. The first three pictures didn’t have much in the way of background because they were just big enough to get the two of them in the frame together, but he could clearly remember when each one of them was taken and it served as a way to see how the two of them had grown and changed over the years. The last one, however, was one of his favorites and featured him and Loony lying on one of his exceptionally large cushioned-barriers with the other gem pointing up at the stars above with a bright smile on her face while Domino looked at them with a contented smile of his own.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The third shelf held four pictures of him with Steelbeak. One which they’d been forced to reluctantly take after their first successful mission together with the two not even looking at one another. An interesting one of them that had somehow been taken in the heat of combat with the two agents standing not-quite-back-to-back on one of Steelbeak’s platforms as they shot at enemies outside of the hologram’s range. A candid picture that Loony had taken of them a couple years ago while they’d been seated next to each other on one of the benches in the Lucky Star with him laughing over a story that Steelbeak had been telling him. The last picture was one that Domino had never seen before of him reading something aloud from a datapad while Steelbeak watched him with an uncharacteristically gentle smile on his gleaming beak and an adoring look in his eyes that he was usually so careful to divert or cover up whenever he knew Domino was looking at him.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The bottom shelf was more diverse, showing a few gems that he’d met within the past few centuries but had become very good friends with. One was of Domino seated at a table with a heavyset female pigeon bearing a square-cut black tourmaline gemstone on her right hand, the two having a pleasant conversation despite another black tourmaline (one with a trapeze-cut stone under her right eye and a skinnier, though <b>much</b> dirtier body than her fellow tourmaline) inserting herself into the picture’s background just to stick her tongue out at the camera. Another was of him leaning against a wall and pinching the bridge of his beak with an annoyed look on his face while standing next to a female fox who was rubbing her temples with an equally annoyed look as they discussed something, light gleaming off of the ocean blue drop-cut kyanite gemstone that was positioned just right to look like a belt buckle on the fox’s waist. The last two were of him with a rather charming and handsome penguin who had a slightly cracked beak and blue eyes that matched the round celestite stone on his right shoulder- one of Domino sitting on a counter and smirking down at the celestite with a finger under the apparently annoyed (and slightly flustered) gem’s cracked beak, while the other picture featured the two of them standing outside of a building while looking at each other fondly as snow fell around them.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Every picture was neatly placed and aligned (a ruler most <b>definitely</b> would have been needed to get everything that meticulously spaced and centered), with the only oddity being that the second shelf was nearly empty. The <b>nearly</b> part was from the fact that a lone item rested on the shelf- a small four-faceted crystal which matched the one that Steelbeak had used to unlock the ship earlier, except its facets were alternating black and white instead of pure black like the melanite’s.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Once Domino had picked up the crystal, Steelbeak moved closer to join him at the shelf of pictures. “I meant what I said earlier, Dee. It ain’t just <b>my</b> ship this time:” He held out his own crystal next to Domino’s, the pair of stones sparkling in the light. “It’s <b>ours</b>.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And, just like that, everything about the Black Iron Comet’s design made sense: The sleek black body made to look like obsidian with a windshield the same shade of red as the accents on Domino’s outfit and white spots on the bottom resembling the quartz spots in his own stone. The ramp for easy access into the ship without the need to fly or stretch or rely on someone else for assistance. The choices for the main room’s décor that were far closer to Domino’s own taste than Steelbeak’s usual flashy style. The pre-designed rooms that catered to both his and Loony’s own tastes and comforts. Even the perfectly aligned shelves of holo-disks…</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>All of it- every single part of the ship- was crafted that way <b>for</b> Domino.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Looking away from the matching stones in their hands, the snowflake obsidian stared up at his partner. “How long have you been planning this?” This was all too well done- too expertly executed- to have been started within the past month on their way back to homeworld.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Started thinkin’ ‘bout it last century.” Steelbeak didn’t hesitate or look away like he normally would when called out for engaging in, as he would often put it in his own words, “sappy nonsense”. Instead, he met the shorter gem’s eyes confidently while keeping his tone of voice softer than usual to show that, for once, he was completely serious. “Caught myself thinkin’ ‘Wow, this ship’s kinda cramped for three gems, we should get a new one’ and it scared the sediment right outta me ‘cause, in all the years I owned the old girl, the Lucky Star NEVER felt cramped or crowded and I NEVER thought of gettin’ a new one t’ make <b>someone</b><b>else</b> feel better……but, I didn’t ‘ave YOU before, neither..” The corners of his beak lifted in a small smile as he regarded the snowflake obsidian fondly. “I ain’t never ‘ad a partner like you before, snowflake..never ‘ad anyone that I actually WANTED t’ keep around..got me thinkin’ ‘bout alotta things..” As he spoke, he grabbed something else out of his pockets- four more holo-disks that he carefully arranged into their proper places on the previously vacant second shelf. “Got me thinkin’ ‘bout how I wouldn’t mind seein’ your grouchy face and scary eyes everyday..or how I’d like bein’ there when ya do embarassin’ stuff like get so int’ readin’ one o’ your stories that ya start makin’ faces without realizin’ it..or how I wouldn’t have t’ worry ‘bout goin’ int’ war zones ‘cause, even if I got damaged, I’d be fine ‘cause you’d have my back….or how, after a long day, I could sit right down next t’ ya and just…BE there without havin’ t’ talk ‘bout nothin’, ya know..?” He finished setting the disks up and looked down at Domino again. “Maybe I’m readin’ too much int’ it. Maybe, for gems like YOU, a thousand years ain’t worth that much..” Had it really been that long already? A brief glance at the date on his watch confirmed for Domino that, yes, it had not only been one thousand years since they’d first met- it had been one thousand years to the <b>day</b>. “But, for me, that’s a pretty big deal. Ya told me you weren’t goin’ nowhere..and, for some reason I’m still tryin’ t’ figure out, I actually <b>believed</b> ya.” He shrugged, his earlier smile growing into a full-blown grin. “So, I figured, if you ain’t goin’ nowhere, and I ain’t goin’ nowhere, and we’re already stuck t’gether all the time anyway..why not just bite the bullet an’ say it already?” Steelbeak looked back to the new holo-disks that he’d set out on the shelf. “This place was already gonna be my home..but..if ya still feel like stickin’ around..” He reached over and, one at a time, began turning them on to display the pictures they held. “It can be <b>your</b> home, too.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“!!!” As the new images lit up before his eyes, Domino actually had to place a hand to his beak because, though he didn’t want to admit it, he wasn’t sure what sounds might leave him at the sights that greeted him.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Tears started to gather in the corners of his eyes as he saw that each of the four images contained himself…and his former partner, Checkers. The first picture was of them right after they’d graduated from the F.O.W.L. academy, officially earned their agent status, and been told they were assigned as partners for the foreseeable future- Checkers had insisted on taking a commemorative picture to celebrate and dragged a very unprepared &amp; surprised Domino in front of the camera by putting an arm around his shoulders and taking the picture before the loon was ready (he’d reflexively elbowed the fire opal in the side right after the picture was taken, causing the dog to double over in pain and apologize for forgetting the other’s “do not touch” rule). The second picture had apparently been taken from some security camera footage within their former base- it was a simple but wholesome image of the two walking together down an empty hallway and holding hands while tenderly gazing at one another, each with a faint blush on their cheeks and an adoring smile on their face as it was the first time Domino had reached out and grabbed the fire opal’s hand without putting one of his barrier-gloves around it like he usually would. The third was taken shortly after he and Checkers had been gifted Loony- the spinel had stretched her arm out to hold the camera and get all of them in the picture with her other arm stretched over to Domino’s head so she could do her favorite trick of giving him fake mammalian-style ears, Checkers was in the middle with one arm around Loony’s shoulders doing a similar gesture and the other resting comfortably on Domino’s side, all while Domino himself had his arms folded across his chest and had attempted to roll his eyes but the action was meaningless with the lovingly fond smile on his beak at the other gems’ antics. The final picture was another one that had apparently been taken from a security camera- this one was outside of their former base, with the two gems standing in the snow at the building’s perimeter and sharing a loving kiss; it had been a few hundred years since they’d started dating, and that was the first time they’d kissed, making it one of Domino’s happiest memories.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“I know I ain’t like ‘im,” Steelbeak said softly as he looked at the pictures. “And I ain’t gonna try t’ be.” He turned so that he was fully facing his partner. “But..I already said I ain’t goin’ nowhere…that means I’ll always be ‘round ‘ere somewhere if ya need someone.” The melanite brought up one of his hands, holding it out in invitation. “So, whattaya say, snowflake? Feel like puttin’ up with me for another thousand years?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Domino turned away from the holograms that continued to stir up wounds and emotions that were still fairly fresh in his memory. The love he had for Checkers and the pain from losing him wouldn’t go away anytime soon. It might not ever go away completely.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>But, as he looked at the other man and his extended hand, he knew that it wasn’t a bad thing. Steelbeak knew about Checkers before things really even started between them. He knew that Domino was still hurting and had never once tried to take advantage of that fact- never tried to use his pain as a way into his metaphorical heart. Steelbeak, who’d been praised by both F.O.W.L. High Command and White Diamond herself for his ability to deceive, manipulate, and infiltrate organizations thanks to his keen intellect and skills in knowing how and when to take advantage of others, had only ever offered his partner quiet support and understanding in the rare moments when he found the other man vulnerable while wracked with grief. He never once pitied him, or falsely sympathized with him by lying to him about knowing the same pain, or tried to tell him he should move on and find happiness elsewhere.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>All he’d ever done was the same as what he’d done in that moment: He showed Domino that he accepted his past feelings, the ones he still held in the present, and the ones he would continue to have in the future without putting forth any pressure for the snowflake obsidian to change whatsoever. He showed that he accepted every part of Domino and would take whatever the darker bird was willing to give him.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Knowing that made a smile spread easily over the loon’s beak. “As if you needed to ask..besides, you already cheated by showing Loony her room first- if I try to make her leave now, I’ll never hear the end of it…” Domino brought one sleeve up to his eyes and wiped away the tears that had been threatening to spill over, Steelbeak glancing away as he often did in the exceedingly rare moments he actually saw his partner cry so they could both pretend he didn’t see it (it was one of the only things the taller gem <b>didn’t</b> tease him for). With his dignity preserved, the snowflake obsidian looked back up at his partner and reached towards the offered hand. “But, even with that aside, another thousand years sounds more than doable.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>As usual, a white barrier appeared around his hand like a glove so he could grasp the melanite’s hand, though this one was much thinner than what he would normally use. Most of the time if he had to shake someone’s hand, the barrier would be so thick and rigid that he wouldn’t feel the other person at all; those were more like wearing heavily padded winter gloves. This one, however, was so thin that it was almost translucent and had a bit of elasticity to it, allowing him to actually feel the warmth and pressure of Steelbeak’s hand in his own.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“I’mma hold ya to that, Domino.” Steelbeak smiled softly for a moment, accepting the contact and knowing what the change in the darker bird’s barrier meant without either of them having to say a word on the matter.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Dominic.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The word caught Steelbeak off guard, making him look down at the other bird in confusion. “Huh?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“It’s the name I chose for myself.” Domino explained calmly. “If we’re going to be together for another thousand years, then I believe I can trust you with it.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“!!” The look of surprise on Steelbeak’s face was truly priceless. He clearly hadn’t been prepared to hear something so important and quickly tried to cover it up with his usual sarcasm and bravado. “ ‘Dominic’? Really? Outta all the names in the universe, ya go an’ pick one that’s only two letters off from your given name?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Domino shrugged, easily seeing through the other bird’s attempt to hide how touched he was by the shorter gem’s show of trust. “I liked the way it sounded.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Feh, ‘course ya did..” Steelbeak was quiet for a minute, avoiding eye contact as the conflict of what he was about to say was easy to see between his shifting eyes and tensed muscles. “……Mine’s Pauly..” The slightly uncomfortable look on his face made it glaringly obvious that he’d never shared that information with anyone before.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Domino raised one eyebrow while looking up at the melanite’s still-averted eyes. “ ‘Pauly’? Really? And you’re making fun of MY name?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“..‘s better than ‘Dominic’..” The embarrassed melanite was growing increasingly flustered, even attempting to subtly pull his hand out of the other’s grasp.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Not really.” Domino chuckled at his partner’s expression- it was always fun when he could find something to tease the normally self-confident chief officer over, but, this time, he decided to be merciful. “But,” He adjusted his grip on the lighter hand so that their fingers were now laced together rather than cupped as they had been before. “It suits you, Pauly.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Steelbeak had been preparing what was likely a snappy comeback, but, when he heard the snowflake obsidian’s words, he stopped and looked down at their joined hands. “……” After a moment, he huffed out a quieter version of his usual nasally laugh. “Guess yours ain’t that bad either, Dominic.” He smiled adoringly at his partner, looking at him in that special way that he reserved when it was just the two of them- his eyes open and unguarded with none of his usual walls of sarcasm and cockiness there to hide what he was thinking.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Domino smiled back at Steelbeak in a similar manner, knowing that, while they likely had a long road ahead of them, they were both taking a huge step forward that day.</em>
</p>
<p>“Pauly..” Domino’s earlier anger begins to fade away. What was he <em>doing</em>? They’ve had their differences and disagreements before. They both have their issues. But Steelbeak has never lied to him. Avoided the truth as a form of self-preservation because he wasn’t ready to admit to something? Sure, plenty of times. But he’d never <b>lied</b> to Domino even once over the course of their entire partnership. “Pauly, I-” Looking back down at the seated gem, Domino is hit with a sudden wave of déjà vu.</p>
<p>The stance he’s in…</p>
<p>The way his hand is clutching the cluster of shards protectively against his chest…</p>
<p>The sad, sympathetic look on Steelbeak’s face…</p>
<p>The way his gun is pressed against the melanite’s shiny black gemstone and his finger is trembling on the trigger, about to pull back when the simulated muscles of his hand clench-</p>
<p>With a gasp, Domino realizes: He KNOWS this scene.</p>
<p>He KNOWS how it <b><em>ends</em></b>.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oof..lot to unpack in this chapter. For any of you who have never read my work before, you will soon find out that I am physically incapable of writing any characters I ship in a story without putting them through the emotional hell that is angst.</p>
<p>For anyone who doesn’t know who the ones in bottom row of pictures were, here’s the breakdown: The first one is Domino with Ammonia Pine (and Ample Grime photo bombing them). The second one is him with sandyferal‘s OC Susanne Gnamie. The third and forth one are both lesbian-duck-lord‘s OC Marty and both were based off of pictures drawn by Eleanorose123.</p>
<p>Also, the whole thing with the given name versus the chosen name is an element of the main story that I’ll be introducing down the line: Gems are given a name when they’re created so they don’t have to keep going by their gemstone ID, but it’s kind of an unspoken rule of their society that, down the line, you end up picking a name for yourself, as well. It’s something very personal that you only share with those closest to you, hence Steelbeak getting all flustered when Domino shared his x3</p>
<p>On a side note, thought I’d mention that making Steelbeak’s real name Pauly came from a conversation I had with a friend about how he’s one of the few bad guys that never gets their actual name mentioned anywhere. We were talking and I was like “His name can’t just be STEELBEAK- he had to have been called something BEFORE he joined F.O.W.L., right?” and I thought about how Quackerjack, similar to Steelbeak, was never given an official name, but everyone in the fandom unanimously decided that his first name is some form of Jack/Jacky and his last name is Bell like his voice actor. I decided to play on that for Steelbeak’s name and said “Well he doesn’t look like a Rob, so how about something involving the last name?” and I eventually got “Pauly” out of “Rob Paulsen” and have now unofficially decided that that is his secret real name!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Domino deals with the aftermath of his actions. Fate really can make fools of us all, huh?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here I go again, putting poor Domino through more emotional hell. I feel bad that both stories I’ve written for him so far have involved triggering his past trauma with Checkers by reliving it via Steelbeak &gt;~&lt;” I swear, I’ll write something happier with him soon to make up for it!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Domino’s gun falls to the ground, landing at his feet and sitting there a moment before vanishing. The recording that Gandra showed him replays over and over again in his mind. He knew what was going to happen if Steelbeak approached him, knew how it was going to end, but he’d still reacted exactly as she’d predicted. Stars, it’s just like Checkers, only this time it really IS his fault!</p>
<p>He’s unable to speak for several minutes, frozen in place with the horrified realization that he’d-</p>
<p>“Dom..”</p>
<p>A reassuring voice calls out to him, trying to bring him back to reality.</p>
<p>“C’mon, snowflake, it’s okay- I’M okay.”</p>
<p>It’s Steelbeak’s voice, he knows it is, but he still can’t believe-</p>
<p>“Dominic, <b>look</b> at me.”</p>
<p>His voice is firm, leaving no room for disagreement.</p>
<p>Hesitantly, Domino slowly lifts his head back up and looks in front of him. He doubts his own vision at the moment, seeing his partner now standing in front of him rather than sitting as he had been before. The rooster’s face is firmly set in a stern expression- one he’d often use when giving orders to his eggmen- but his eyes look at Domino with nothing but concern and understanding.</p>
<p>Once he knows he has the loon’s attention, Steelbeak brings a hand up to his own chest, tapping his fingers next to his gemstone. “See, Deedee? I’m still in one piece. I’m still with ya. I ain’t goin’ nowhere.” Rather than lower his hand, he lays it flat against his chest and begins breathing in a slow, even pattern.</p>
<p>Domino recognizes the unspoken suggestion and begins to synchronize his breathing with the other gem’s.</p>
<p>Deep breath in.</p>
<p>Slow breath out.</p>
<p>Repeat.</p>
<p>Gems have no real <em>need</em> for oxygen, seeing as their bodies are merely light-based constructs, so breathing isn’t really necessary. Similarly to resting, though, some gems have found that the action can have positive psychological benefits. This particular breathing exercise is one that Domino learned years ago. He found it to be a good solution during his more stressful “episodes”.</p>
<p>While he’s never had an actual conversation with Steelbeak about it, the melanite is pretty clever and took notice of the unnecessary breaths he would take when something made him particularly angry and he was trying to hold back, or when he was recovering after blowing up at someone for touching him, or when something would remind him of what happened before the two of them met, or even when he was forced to hold his tongue in the presence of those irritatingly elitist gems that would make snide comments about him and he was on orders not to blow his cover by attacking them (the pair would always track them down later, though- Steelbeak’s status allowed him the right to know where most elites lived or were stationed and he was always happy to help Domino vent his frustrations with the upper-class). After a while, Steelbeak started to do them as well when he saw Domino getting frustrated. He would put a hand to his chest to get the snowflake obsidian’s attention and start breathing in the rhythm that helped Domino re-center himself, the two of them breathing in sync with each other until the stress had lessened enough that he could think clearly again.</p>
<p>Just like every time before, Steelbeak keeps taking slow, deep breaths in and lets them out until he sees the tremors finally leave Domino’s body and the clarity return to his gaze. “Ya back with me, stripes?”</p>
<p>Domino takes one last breath in and out before nodding. “Yes..”</p>
<p>“Good.” The rooster nods back over to the chairs they’d been seated in before and the two gems move back to their previous positions, Domino sitting properly and facing the table while Steelbeak sits with his back to it and his elbows resting back on the flat surface casually.</p>
<p>The silence between them is tense, nearly suffocating. Seeing the whole situation as his own fault, Domino decides to be the bigger gem and break the ice. “..I’m sorry.”</p>
<p>Steelbeak just shrugs, the two of them not quite ready to look at each other yet. “Not like it’s the first time I’ve seen the barrel of your gun like that. Ya threaten t’ shoot me at least once a century.”</p>
<p>“But it <em>is</em> the first time I could have gone through with it.” Domino looks down at his empty hand on the table, still feeling traces of his weapon’s familiar outline against his fingers.</p>
<p>Steelbeak looks at the loon from the corner of his eye. “Ya REALLY think you woulda shot me?”</p>
<p>“…” Domino’s frown deepens slightly, his hand clenching shut as he remembers his feelings in that moment- both from an emotional and a physical standpoint. “I think I would have done it by accident..and immediately regretted it as one of the biggest mistakes of my life…” He sighs with a slow shake of his head. “You really should have listened to Gandra and stayed away..the chance that you’d survive was practically nonexistent..”</p>
<p>“Ha!” Steelbeak barks out a laugh, throwing his head back in the process before looking over at his partner. “Ya REALLY think I’d believe somethin’ like that? I knew I’d be fine, so why waste time hidin’?”</p>
<p>“You had more faith in me than I did..” The snowflake obsidian still didn’t look up from the table, even though he could feel the other gem’s eyes on him.</p>
<p>“ ‘cause you ain’t never givin’ me a reason t’ bet against ya.” That earns his attention, making Domino glance at Steelbeak as he continues talking. “Stardust’s great at what she does, no denyin’ that, but all she does- all ANY of those fancy future-readin’ sapphires do- is <b>guess</b> what’s gonna happen usin’ what <b><em>they</em></b> know.” His smile is nearly infectious as he gazes into the obsidian’s red eyes. “And she don’t know ya that well, snowflake- not like <b><em>I</em></b> do.” Steelbeak moves his left hand- the one closest to Domino- so that it’s lying closer to him, palm facing up in a clear invitation. “I know you’re strong enough not t’ let somethin’ as weak as ‘impossible odds’ stop ya…I know you’re clever enough t’ outsmart somethin’ as stupid as ‘fate’…and I know you’re stubborn enough that, if ya wanna make somethin’ happin’, you’re <b>gonna</b> make it happen, even if somethin’ as small as ‘the universe’ is against ya.”</p>
<p>A small smile slowly forms on the loon’s beak the longer he hears the rooster speak. “You’re right, those things are pretty insignificant.” He moves his empty hand over to the one lying on the table and takes the other’s invitation (as he always does), an extremely thin, flexible barrier covering the appendage before he laces his fingers together with the lighter ones beneath.</p>
<p>Domino feels the diluted warmth and pressure of Steelbeak’s hand through his barrier, and it grounds him in the moment, making it all the more <b>real</b>: He hadn’t shot his partner. He hadn’t shattered Steelbeak. He’d recognized what he was about to do and let go of his gun before he’d made the biggest mistake of his life since letting Checkers go off on his own that day. He had beaten the odds and defied fate’s design. They’d both come out of it okay and Steelbeak is still here, still <em>with</em> him.</p>
<p>He feels a light pressure on the back of his hand through his barrier and glances down to see Steelbeak’s thumb idly running light circles across the translucent white surface. After a minute of getting used to the sensation, the shimmering film over the back of his hand recedes until only his palm and fingers remain encased.</p>
<p>Steelbeak’s thumb stops immediately when he notices the lack of space between their feathers and he looks the other man in the eyes with a silent, questioning look on his face, his thumb staying raised just above the other’s hand. “…?”</p>
<p>Domino huffs, a quiet sound barely counting as a laugh, and the small smile on his face grows a little more.</p>
<p>Even after all this time…even after the thousands upon thousands of years they’ve been together…even after Domino <em>himself</em> is the one to initiate and offer it…Steelbeak <b>still</b> waits to make sure he has his partner’s full consent before <b><em>actually</em></b> touching him.</p>
<p>“It’s fine.” Domino tells him with a nod before closing his eyes.</p>
<p>The rooster nods back and gently caresses the back of his partner’s hand with his thumb, changing the previous circular motion to a stroking one to avoid ruffling his feathers the wrong way. The feeling is…complicated, to say the least.</p>
<p>Domino has hated the feeling of others touching him for as long as he could remember. Even if his body is just a light-based hologram, it still has simulated muscles and nerve-endings that allow him to feel physical sensations- a design all gems are created with to make sure they can recognize dangers that could destabilize their form or even shatter their gem. To most gems, the feeling of touch is pleasant at best, and just something to live with at worst.</p>
<p>To Domino, however, it brings back memories of his creation. Every touch to his body reminds him of the volcano he climbed out of and the other gems who would grab onto him to save themselves or shove him to make him fall. It makes him think of the agonized screams of the gems that fell into the lava, of how he’d almost fallen in and joined them in their demise multiple times. It forces him to remember how it felt before he was strong enough to properly fight back- and he <b>hates</b> being reminded of that part of his life, often reacting with extreme violence against whomever had the misfortune of coming into contact with him.</p>
<p>With certain people, though, he has found that he can become used to their touch. It takes <b>a lot</b> of trust, as well as a long time for him to form that level of trust, and it can still make him feel uncomfortable, but it doesn’t send him into a violent rage like it normally would. In the right doses, it can even be something to find comfort in- provided the contact is on his own terms and he’s prepared for it, of course.</p>
<p>Throughout his life, there have been a handful of gems whom he trusted and cared for enough to enjoy their touch. Checkers was one of them, as he was a very outgoing and physically affectionate person who would (unfortunately) forget about Domino’s “no-touching” rule more often than not, but as the years went by Domino found that he could enjoy the fire opal’s affectionate gestures more and more. Loony is another one and, like Checkers, she occasionally forgets about Domino’s touch aversion and does things like excitedly grab him by the hands or hug him, but she can always tell when he begins to feel uncomfortable and is quick to let go the moment she feels “bad things” from him.</p>
<p>There are a couple other gems in the universe whose touch he can stand, but Steelbeak, surprisingly, is probably the best at remembering his rules (partly due to an incident early on in their partnership where he witnessed Domino tear an organic creature to bits for attempting to grapple and restrain him). The melanite always reaches out, offering his hand in invitation in a way that is not overbearing or demanding, merely leaving it nearby as a silent signal that the contact is there if he desires it. He’s also very careful not to touch the darker bird in any way that could be considered aggressive- he never grabs Domino without permission, even in emergencies or in the heat of battle he finds other ways to reach out like using his platforms to catch the snowflake obsidian or, at the very least, calls the other’s name to make sure he sees his hand and has time to put a barrier-glove around his own hand if he feels it’s necessary. Then, in rare, intimate moments such as these where Domino actually allows the unfiltered physical contact, his partner every time, without fail, waits until he knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that it’s okay to proceed.</p>
<p>Domino would be more than content to stay like this for a while longer, clearly in need of something to help ease the stressful rollercoaster of emotions he’s been stuck on all day…sadly, a growing pressure in his other hand reminds him that this day isn’t over just yet.</p>
<p>Red eyes snapping open, Domino looks down to the cluster of shards in his other hand and sees that it’s begun to glow and expand. As it grows, a deafening chorus of screams in a multitude of voices fills the room, with one painfully familiar voice standing out among them to the snowflake obsidian in a way that breaks his heart to hear.</p>
<p>“Dom!” Steelbeak instantly lets go of his hand and grabs the nearby gem destabilizer, passing it off to the loon after turning it on.</p>
<p>Domino uses the tool for its intended purpose and touches it to the shards, sending out a pulse of white electricity that instantly destabilizes the barely-formed body before it can get any bigger. He winces when the amalgamation lets out one final, ear-splitting cry before what little of its body there was dissolves away, leaving the fused cluster still and silent in his palm once more. “…Thanks..” The pain in his voice is clear, mostly because he knows there’s no point in hiding it now.</p>
<p>Steelbeak nods, silently acknowledging the other gem and watching as he grabs the laser cutter to begin sectioning off parts of the mini-cluster without getting too close to the fire opal. “That ain’t gonna bring ‘im back.” There’s no sarcasm or condescension to the melanite’s words like there would be if he were speaking to nearly anyone else.</p>
<p>“…” The snowflake obsidian’s movements pause for a second before he continues his work. “I know..” He trades the laser cutter for the pliers the lighter bird offered him earlier and uses them to begin pulling and wiggling the broken jade fragment to loosen it. “Checkers is gone. I made peace with that fact a long time ago.” The shard comes out much easier this time and he adds it to the pile of gem bits on the table.</p>
<p>“Then why?” Steelbeak knows the answer already. He knew the moment he walked into the room and saw the shorter gem desperately trying to break the mass of shards. He knew before he even entered the room to confirm what his partner was doing.</p>
<p>But he also knows that it still needs to be <em>said</em>.</p>
<p>“……” Domino sets the pliers down, stopping to look down at the cluster of shards in his hand while his thumb gently traces the edges of the fire opal. “We’re gems,” He begins, never taking his eyes off of the fragmented fusion. “We’re a race literally <b>designed</b> for war. We’re parasites that invade, conquer, and destroy planets, just so we can grow more of our own kind and begin the cycle all over again. On top of that, we’re F.O.W.L. agents- we do all of those things AND turn our weapons on our own kind if High Command deems it necessary without question or hesitation. We are NOT good people, in <em>any</em> capacity.” His hand begins to grip the cluster of shards tighter. “But…even so…even..knowing all of that…” His shoulders begin to tremble, his head tilting down so that the brim of his hat hid his eyes from Steelbeak’s view. “He didn’t deserve <b>this</b>!” The loon’s free hand curls into a fist that slams down against the table in frustration. “No matter what he may have done while he was alive, I KNOW that he never did anything to deserve this..this <b><em>torture</em></b>!” His grip on the shards becomes almost painful as they dig into his hand, but he doesn’t relent. “He was brash and loud and terrible at thinking things through, but Checkers was still one of the best gems I’ve ever known- dying once should have been punishment enough for anything he did, so why does he have to go through this?!” The pain finally grows to the point of threatening to pierce his hand and, taking a moment to breathe in and out and reign in his anger, Domino releases his grip, just letting the cluster of broken gems rest on his opened palm. His anger diminishes, the tension in his body and voice dropping when all that’s left is the pain. “I just…don’t want him to suffer anymore…he doesn’t deserve it…..”</p>
<p>“No, he doesn’t.” Steelbeak’s voice is steady when his hand comes back into Domino’s line of sight. It lies on the table near Domino’s own like before, only this time it’s offering something different. “Let’s make sure he don’t come back like that again.”</p>
<p>“……” He knows he can trust Steelbeak, he really does- they’ve had each other’s backs in life or death battles more times than he can count and he would trust the other man with his life at the drop of a hat…but Domino still hesitates to hand over the shards. He hesitates because trusting Steelbeak with his life is one thing and trusting him with Checkers’ is something entirely different. He wants to help him, wants to make sure he doesn’t go through anything worse than what he already has, wants-</p>
<p>“Dominic,” Hearing his name once more makes him finally look back up and see his partner’s earnest, understanding gaze. “You don’t gotta do this alone.”</p>
<p>Steelbeak’s right, and Domino knows it. With that in mind, he carefully places the mini-cluster into the lighter hand beside his own. “…Be careful with him..”</p>
<p>“I will.” Steelbeak tells him, his voice calm and reassuring.</p>
<p>The melanite takes a moment to thoroughly examine the cluster of shards, turning it over in his hands several times and even holding it up to the light above so he can get a better idea of where some shards end and others begin. Once he’s satisfied with what he’s found, he adjusts his grip so that his thumb and first two fingers are firmly grasping the fire opal.</p>
<p>And then he BITES it.</p>
<p>Domino’s eyes widen to an almost comical degree and he has to grip the table to fight his body’s natural impulse to snatch the shards back. Steelbeak knows what he’s doing..at least that’s what Domino keeps telling himself in his mind as he watches the other gem turn the mini-cluster on its side and take ANOTHER bite out of it, breaking off more and more bits and shards.</p>
<p>While Steelbeak’s method is efficient (that beak could easily break through anything- Domino’s seen him take bites out of everything from chains to advanced weaponry and even the wing of a ship), there’s something distinctly unsettling about watching him use his namesake to practically cannibalize the remains of his own species. The sickened look on the rooster’s face tells Domino that the whole process is just as unpleasant for him- if not more so.</p>
<p>After a few more gem-cracking bites, Steelbeak finishes breaking off the extra shards and quickly drops the still in-tact piece of the fire opal he’d been carefully holding back into Domino’s hand. Once his own hands are free, Steelbeak cups both of them below his beak and quickly spits out the various cracked and splintered gem bits that had accumulated in his mouth (both of them thankful for the fact that they don’t produce saliva, as that would make the act even more disgusting than it already was).</p>
<p>He looks absolutely disgusted by what he did and, honestly, Domino can’t blame him- he’s not sure if he would have had the (metaphorical) stomach to do what the other bird had just done. To spare the melanite’s nonexistent stomach and save him from dealing with any further unpleasantness spawned from his actions, the snowflake obsidian reaches over and forms a white bubble around the remaining shards in his partner’s hands. “We’ll save these and analyze them later.” He taps the bubble and it vanishes.</p>
<p>“Yeah..” Steelbeak runs a hand over his comb, clearly still trying to settle himself after doing something so grotesque.</p>
<p>While the taller bird takes a minute to recover, Domino looks down at the fire opal fragment in his hand. There are still a few stumps from the gem shards it had been fused with earlier that will likely need to be filed down or carefully trimmed off; for now, though, it’s enough to make sure a body won’t be able to form from the broken pieces. It’s still a decently sized chunk, all things considered, but, he realizes, it would equate to only about a quarter of the previously radiated-round cut gemstone. “This isn’t all of him.”</p>
<p>“Rest is probably out there somewhere.” Having taken the time he needed to recover, Steelbeak looks over at the shard in the loon’s hand. “So…whattaya wanna do, stripes? If drippy’s right, this thing goes pretty deep- all the way up t’ the Diamonds. Could be dangerous…I get it if you’re <b>scared</b>.”</p>
<p>“<em>Scared</em>?” Dark fingers grip the broken opal tightly. “I’m not <em>scared</em>…I’m <b><em>furious</em></b>!” Domino glares at the shattered remains of his former partner, at the jagged line from where it was broken off from the rest of its gem and the foreign shards still stuck to it from its forced fusion. “Eighty-six-hundred years…for over eighty-six-hundred years I’ve sent requests, I’ve filled out the proper paperwork, I’ve played by all the rules and tried to find out what happened to the rest of his shards..and do you know what I have to show for it? <b>Nothing</b>! No replies, no news, no answers whatsoever. For the first time since I was transferred, I FINALLY have a solid lead and I plan to follow it through no matter where it ends!” He turns to face his partner, the hardened glare of his red eyes speaking volumes worth of murderous intent that would make lesser creatures cower in fear. “I don’t care who or what’s at the end of that path. I’m going to find anyone who had a hand in this-” He brings his other hand up and clenches it tightly into a fist. “-and see how many pieces I can <b><em>break</em></b> them into before they <b>SHATTER</b>.”</p>
<p>To Domino’s surprise, the other bird actually looks <em>pleased</em> by his reaction. He’s looking at Domino with a smug, shit-eating grin spread across his gleaming beak. “Now THERE’S my short-fused snowflake.”</p>
<p>Domino is briefly taken aback by his partner’s response, but the previously deadly glare on his face eases into a smirk. “I should have known..you enjoy seeing me get this fired up, don’t you?”</p>
<p>“Course I do.” Steelbeak’s reply is shamelessly lacking in hesitation as he leans closer to the snowflake obsidian (though not close enough to make him uncomfortable) so he can look him dead in the eyes. “You get that fire goin’ in your gem, and those red eyes ’re hotter than lava.” He completes the statement with a wink.</p>
<p>“Well then,” Always one to appreciate a well-executed flirt, Domino turns the tables on the taller bird by leaning closer as well, the action surprising Steelbeak and causing him to lean back so that he’s forced to look up at the normally shorter bird as he looms over him in a far less threatening way than he had earlier. “I hope you can stand the heat, because things are only going to get hotter from here on.” He gives a wink of his own and taps the tip of the other bird’s metallic beak with a fingertip before standing up straight and giving the now flustered rooster a chance to recover.</p>
<p>Feathers slightly fluffed up from the obsidian’s comeback, Steelbeak quickly shakes his head and fixes his comb in an attempt to regain his usual suave demeanor and secretly hopes the red on his cheeks isn’t too noticeable through his feathers (it is, but it amuses his partner to let him think it doesn’t). “Good t’ see ya back t’ normal, snowflake.” He gets up from his seat as well, heading for the door. “Guess I should go tell the girls I’m still alive an’ kickin’.” When he gets to the door, he pauses with his hand near the panel, glancing back over his shoulder at the other gem. “Hey…we’ll be good without ya for a while.”</p>
<p>Domino can easily read between the lines and understands what he really means, but shakes his head in reply. “I’ll be out in a minute.”</p>
<p>“Suit yourself.” Steelbeak shrugs and taps the panel by the door to open it. On his way out, he keeps his voice just quiet enough to make sure it’s not heard down the hall. “Make that minute long as ya need it t’ be, Dom.”</p>
<p>Once the melanite is out of his room and the door is closed once again, Domino slowly exhales a breath and looks down at the fire opal in his hand. “……” He walks over to the shelves lined with holo-disks and looks at them- looking at the second shelf, in particular. Domino carefully reaches through the images, being careful not to move the disks themselves, and presses his fingers to the wall behind the shelf. A small embedded panel slides open at his touch, revealing a shallow hole behind the pictures. Inside the hole is a bundle of red fabric neatly folded into a square. “Chuck..” Domino reaches inside and carefully pulls out the fabric. “I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to find you-” Dextrous hands meticulously unfold the fabric, being careful not to let the middle fall open before he’s done. “-but, I promise-” The long strip of fabric falls open, revealing itself to be an all-too-familiar scarf. “-I won’t let this drag on any longer.” Nestled safely in the unfolded material are a few small, broken black and red shards. Domino sets the chunk of fire opal down in the middle, the stone fragments matching its hue perfectly. “This time,” Dark fingertips tenderly trace the edges of the broken gemstone one last time. “I won’t let you, or anyone else, get hurt. I promise.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This chapter definitely got to me on an emotional level. I wanted to show not only how trauma and stress can affect someone, but also ways to deal with it. Breathing exercises have always been something that help me calm down when my anxiety gets the better of me, and I know it can be helpful for many of my friends with a wide array of issues, disorders, traumas and stresses. I thought it would be a good, subtle coping mechanism for someone like Domino who tries to maintain a level-head in front of others.</p>
<p>One thing I really did enjoy about writing this chapter, though, was having Steelbeak get to be a mental/emotional pillar for Domino during his episode. My other story took place more at the beginning of their relationship and showed that trust starting to form, but in this one I had the chance to write them much further along in their relationship after having developed a deep trust and understanding with each other. At this point they’ve got over 8,500 years of working and living together under their belts and they know each other very well. Steelbeak’s been around Domino long enough to see when he’s stressed or having an episode and knows when and how he should help without making things worse, and Domino’s been around Steelbeak long enough to know that he won’t think any less of him for seeing him at his lowest points.</p>
<p>It’s a relationship full of mutual trust and understanding and I loved every part of writing it :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Steelbeak tells the girls he’s alive, and Domino tells everyone what he has planned for the future.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Ah, a short, sweet chapter to close out this emotional rollercoaster of a story. Hope you guys enjoyed it ^^</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When arriving back in the main entryway, Steelbeak is hardly surprised to find a pair of striped arms wrapping around him from his shoulders to his ankles like a pair of snakes and pulling him right up to an overly-excited spinel hanging from the ceiling by her legs.</p>
<p>“Steely, you did it!” Loony stretches her neck and turns her head so that she’s looking at Steelbeak right-side up. “You made Dommy’s bad feelings go down!”</p>
<p>Steelbeak shrugs with one of his usual arrogant smirks. “Eh, what can I say? I’m just THAT friggin’ good.” After a minute, though, his face changes to a more strained smile. “Hey, Loons?”</p>
<p>“Yeah?” The stretchy spinel tilts her head curiously, still smiling brightly at him.</p>
<p>“Be a doll an’ put me down, would ya?” His eyes flick poignantly towards the floor a couple feet below.</p>
<p>Loony suddenly realizes that she is, in fact, still keeping the melanite suspended mid-air and gives him an apologetic smile. “Whoopsie-doodles! Sorry, Steely!” She sets him back down and unwraps her arms from around him.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry ‘bout it, stretch- no harm done.” He tells her while fixing his suit.</p>
<p>“Surprisingly.” A voice from the lounging area beside him says.</p>
<p>Turning his head, to get a better look, Steelbeak is even less surprised to see Gandra reclined back on one of the benches while idly scrolling through something on a projected hologram-screen coming from the watch on her wrist. “And what’s <em>that</em> supposed t’ mean?”</p>
<p>“That you’re still alive.” The star-sapphire replies bluntly. “I’m surprised you made it through that in one piece.”</p>
<p>“Guess I’m just lucky.” Steelbeak’s eyes narrow at the other chicken, before he regains his earlier smirk. “Either that or SOMEONE’S lost her touch.” Oh, how he <b><em>loves</em></b> that challenging and frustrated glare he can always draw out when he pushes her buttons <em>just</em> right. “Somethin’ wrong, stardust?” He asks with the fakest sounding attempt at sympathy in the universe. “Hey, you ain’t lookin’ too happy there, toots. Shouldn’t we be celebratin’? I mean, it’s not like you <b>really </b>WANTED me gone, <em>right</em>?”</p>
<p>Gandra rolls her eyes at his taunting and makes her screen bigger to block out his smug face. “Think I’d celebrate more if you’d actually kicked the bucket..”</p>
<p>“So sorry t’ disappoint ya, Gee, but goin’ down that easy ain’t exactly my style.” The only thing Steelbeak enjoys more than teasing the star-sapphire for her height is calling her out on the extremely rare occasions where her predictions end up being off- it’s one of his favorite pastimes.</p>
<p>His laughter is interrupted by a voice too deep to be Gandra’s. “No, but being loud enough to shake the walls certainly is.” Turning to look at the hall he’d come in through earlier, Steelbeak sees Domino entering the main room as well.</p>
<p>“DOMMY!” Loony drops down from the ceiling next to the obsidian, arms ready to wrap him up in an excited hug. She stops just an inch shy, however, when a single black hand is raised in a silent request. “Oopsies!” Her arms instantly stop and retract before they even have a chance to grab the other gem. “Sorry, Dommy..”</p>
<p>Domino gives her a half-smile and shakes his head. “It’s fine, Loony..just..not right now, okay? Maybe later.” After receiving a happy and agreeable nod in return, Domino redirects his attention to the room as a whole, his demeanor shifting into something far more serious. “F.O.W.L. has been compromised by a Diamond loyalist.”</p>
<p>“If it’s true, then that’s a pretty big deal.” The screen in front of Gandra vanishes as she sits up properly. “Are you sure?”</p>
<p>“Yes.” Domino answers definitively. “I always thought it was odd that none of my requests for information were ever answered or even followed up- if anything, there should have at least been a negative reply- but we were always sent out on long-term missions immediately following a request, most likely to distract me from how much time had passed. If it had happened only once or twice, it could have been blamed on coincidence, or carelessness, or a report falling through the system’s cracks..but I’ve submitted more than eight <b>hundred</b> requests over the years and have never ONCE received an acknowledgement on it.” He shakes his head, the look on his face showing his frustration. “At that point, it’s impossible to call it an accident: Someone within F.O.W.L.- someone very high up in the chain of command- has been intercepting my requests because they KNOW the truth about what happened and are trying to keep people from finding out.”</p>
<p>“So,” His partner looks down at him with a raised brow. “Whattaya wanna do ‘bout it, Deedee?”</p>
<p>“I’m going to find out who that person is and remove him, and any of his co-conspirators, from F.O.W.L. <b><em>personally</em></b>.” Domino reigns in the deadly intent of his voice so that he can speak to his team calmly once again. “It won’t be easy…and, if I’m not careful, I could be branded as a traitor, or worse..but that’s a risk I’m willing to take. I’ll take one of the back-up pod-ships and try to keep in contact with you as much as possible with updates on my location and any information I find.” He looks at the assortment of dark gems in the room with him, at the gems who’d become his team, his <b>family</b>, over the past few thousand years, knowing that, this time, he couldn’t ask them to-</p>
<p>“Count me in!” A cheerful voice to his left says.</p>
<p>Domino looks beside himself to see Loony giving him a confident smile. “Loony, you can’t-”</p>
<p>“We’re a packaged deal, right?” The smile on Loony’s face is as bright as ever, but the softness of her voice and the look in her eyes are far more meaningful. “Where you go, I go- that’s the rule, remember?”</p>
<p>Domino tries to fight the smile forming on his own beak, but it’s practically impossible. He’s not surprised at all to have his own words thrown back at him in such a supportive way. After all, what else would he expect from the gem who was practically a sister to him?</p>
<p>“Guess I’m in, too.” To Domino’s surprise, he sees Gandra get up from her seat and look at him with an indifferent roll of her eyes- the effect greatly diminished by the small smile on her face. “If White Diamond messes things up with F.O.W.L., where else am I gonna go when I’m bored?”</p>
<p>He knows the star-sapphire is just putting up a front. While she’s still the newest member of the crew, she clearly enjoys her spot on the team and the freedom it offers her. Domino and Steelbeak may still be quietly keeping to their promise of seeing anyone else on the ship besides themselves and Loony as expendable, but they knew that Gandra was handy to have around and, given that they scouted her and invited her to join F.O.W.L. themselves, they knew she was more trustworthy than some of the agency’s more senior members.</p>
<p>“Three of you crammed int’ one teeny tiny pod? That’s gonna be a pain.” Domino looks to his other side to see Steelbeak grinning down at him. “Tell ya what, short fuse- why don’t ya just stay here and we ALL take the Black Iron Comet? It’d be roomier AND faster.”</p>
<p>Domino stares up at the melanite before, with a fondly exasperated sigh, he closes his eyes and shakes his head, unable to keep the equally fond smile off of his face. He should have seen that coming. Steelbeak’s been his partner for more than eight and a half thousand years now. Time after time the melanite has proven how far he’s willing to go for him and has more than earned his trust- the incident in his room just a few minutes ago serving as yet another prime example of his partner’s loyalty.</p>
<p>“I suppose you <em>do</em> have a point.” He looks to each gem in the room as he speaks, his voice serious but far less grave than it had been a minute ago. “From now on, we’ll need to be prepared for anything. We’ll have to be extremely careful with who we trust- any information we find stays with us until we know for sure whom we can trust within F.O.W.L. and who we cannot. We’ll also need to stick together to avoid being caught by the enemy- no going off on our own anymore.” He briefly side-eyes one gem in particular after that comment, the rooster rolling his eyes but nodding in agreement at the subtle jab regarding his recent capture. “Now,” He gives the gems around him a confident smirk. “Let’s show those traitors what happens when you double-cross F.O.W.L.”</p>
<p>The chorus of agreeing cheers around him makes Domino’s confidence in their future grow ten-fold. After all, with a team this good backing him up, not even the <b><em>Diamonds</em></b> will stand a chance.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And there we have it- an end to one story, but the beginning of a new one. This group was SO much fun to write and I definitely have plans to do more with all of them in the future after I get the main universe more developed. I’m thinking of having the FOWL Facets story run as a sort of side-story to the Fearsome Facets universe that will occasionally cross over with the FOWL group tracking down the origins of the cluster before everyone comes together in the big series finale.</p>
<p>Wanted to give another HUGE thank you to both Eleanorose123 and Delwrites for allowing me to write this story using their awesome OC’s! They’re wonderful and I look forward to doing so much more with them later on ^^</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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